Commodore Keen!! The Princess of Wales stepped out today, visiting RAF Coningsby. I wasn’t keeping track of the Waleses’ schedules so I have no idea if this was announced ahead of time. Hilariously, this is Commodore Keen’s first-ever visit to this RAF station since becoming Royal Honorary Air Commodore in 2023. Kate really just shrugs off her patronages and they can go years and years without seeing her.
Commodore Catherine! Kate Middleton is making her first visit to a Royal Air Force base in a royal role she received from King Charles. On Oct. 2, the Princess of Wales, 43, visited RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England, marking her inaugural visit to the station since becoming its Royal Honorary Air Commodore in 2023.
King Charles, 76, appointed his daughter-in-law as Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby in August 2023, news revealed in a wider announcement about new military appointments for nine working members of the royal family.
The Princess of Wales was also announced as Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm and Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards at that time, with the RAF Coningsby role linking her to her husband, Prince William, in a sentimental way. The late Queen Elizabeth named her grandson as the Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Coningsby in 2008, meaning that the Prince and Princess of Wales both have official roles with the base in a rare royal overlap.
Princess Kate visited RAF Coningsby for a firsthand introduction to the station and its work as part of the Royal Air Force, which was the British Army branch that Prince William trained and served with during his time as a search and rescue pilot.
The rest of People’s story is just lifted from what must have been the palace’s press release about the event. This is quite common for Kate. They dress her up in something Meghan-inspired, plop a hairpiece on the back of her head and send her out for the photo-op. I think the important photo-op today was Keen Kate In The Cockpit.
Fashion notes: Kate wore another Bella Freud suit, this one in a grey check pattern. Her top is McQueen and her heels are Stuart Weitzman. She looks… fine. A 40-something who only recently learned how to wear big-girl suits.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- 02/10/2025. Coningsby, UK. The Princess of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Coningsby during her first visit to the station. Her Royal Highness received an overview of the work of RAF Coningsby on recent operations, including overseas operations to Poland in support of NATO. Her Royal Highness then met a cross-section of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) personnel and viewed a Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft. Finally, Her Royal Highness visited a communal space called the ‘Lounge’ where The Princess engaged with members of RAF Coningsby’s Welfare Team, and a cross-section of RAF Coningsby personnel including aviators from Junior Ranks, to hear about their roles and experiences on site.,Image: 1042750534, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- 02/10/2025. Coningsby, UK. The Princess of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Coningsby during her first visit to the station. Her Royal Highness received an overview of the work of RAF Coningsby on recent operations, including overseas operations to Poland in support of NATO. Her Royal Highness then met a cross-section of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) personnel and viewed a Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft. Finally, Her Royal Highness visited a communal space called the ‘Lounge’ where The Princess engaged with members of RAF Coningsby’s Welfare Team, and a cross-section of RAF Coningsby personnel including aviators from Junior Ranks, to hear about their roles and experiences on site.,Image: 1042750566, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- 02/10/2025. Coningsby, UK. The Princess of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Coningsby during her first visit to the station. Her Royal Highness received an overview of the work of RAF Coningsby on recent operations, including overseas operations to Poland in support of NATO. Her Royal Highness then met a cross-section of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) personnel and viewed a Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft. Finally, Her Royal Highness visited a communal space called the ‘Lounge’ where The Princess engaged with members of RAF Coningsby’s Welfare Team, and a cross-section of RAF Coningsby personnel including aviators from Junior Ranks, to hear about their roles and experiences on site.,Image: 1042751121, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
How weird….the Instagram post isn’t viewable in my country (Canada). Says it’s restricted.
You aren’t missing much. Her hair is way way too long and I was wondering why she was all in gray. Then I saw the picture of her with the gray airplane in the background. Yeah. She matches the plane.
She matches the plane! LMAO, she just can’t help herself from theme dressing.
It’s from the @hellomag account
If they consider the account to be “news” IG still blocks them for Canadians.
Yep! Just another photo op for the attention seeker. She probably had the plane on her mood board and this suit was the closest match lol.
Finally she got someone to buy her a suit where the trousers actually fit.
I mean, the sartorial bar was in hell, but she managed to trip over it this time?
Her wig de jour is still eating her cranium though.
:slow golf clap:
She never looks good in pants because she has a long torso and very short legs although she’s a tall girl. Gurl is all about her image, that is why she WANTS to wear the girly skirts and dresses.
I like her in grey. I’m glad she took the lesson from Meg and look to monochromatic looks. That said, I cannot get past her posture. I would really love if she did some planks, rows, and presses to correct it. It’s very distracting to me.
I’m not loving the gray top–I don’t think it really matches the suit.
It doesn’t. The top is a bluish gray and she needs warm toned gray with that suit.
Also, her shoes, seems like navy blue. Not a great match. I would prefer, black top and black flat ankle boots or white sneakers.
Yes, the gray top is distracting because the color is so different from the gray pattern of the suit. The subtle pattern of the top makes it even worse when you zoom in. I don’t like the fit of the pants. From a distance, it gave me an MC Hammer feel with how they hang in the crotch area. Her walking with the two people makes it even more obvious that the fit is wrong.
I don’t think it matches either. I don’t mind the color of it, but it’s got a pattern that doesn’t quite sync with the pattern on the suit. Otherwise, though, the suit fits her well and I think it’s a good look for this event.
2023? If I were given an honorary role, I would have been to visit within the month. But I have a work ethic and a responsible nature.
It’s nice enough, but this post is most valuable as a palette cleanser. The world today. 😱 The cut of the slacks works on a tall leggy woman, but I feel like it would add unnecessary inches to a curvier figure.
The hair😬😬😬😬😬. It looks like it moves on its own
She pulls ‘her hair’ back to get in a cockpit, but leaves various doll wigs & falls loose to cook or handle food in any way. She is capable but chooses to be unhygienic, stomach turning.
So it took her over 2 years to visit this base. And shes wearing a boring but professional suit so points for that. The bar is so low for this woman, I know. No points for finally visiting and wearing a professional suit.
The suit isnt amazing, but its fine.
The suit’s fine. The top’s okay, but another color — almost any other color — would have worked better with that suit. I’d have probably gone with red or black, or even a much darker charcoal grey. I just can’t with the Alice in Wonderland hair though.
It’s fine, sure. I don’t love anything about it but it’s fine. It’s almost as if suits were invented in her mind in 2017/18. OT but related to yesterday’s post, I went back and looked at her wedding make-up v her make-up at Meghan’s wedding. And you know what, her eye make-up at Meghan’s wedding was actually pretty good. It’s just funny how nice her hair and make-up was on that day, aside from the primrose yellow, ahem, creamy white dress.
She also had a little bit more weight in her face because she was so newly postpartum and that extra bit really does make her look so much better.
This is such a drab look for her and fits so poorly. Yes it’s professional enough, but nobody should put her in a longer jacket. If it was 4-5 inches shorter it would look so much better for her proportions. The same could be said about her ‘100% real’ hair, but we’ve given up at this point that she will make the right choices in that respect. Is the jacket meant to be oversized? Even so, it is not right on her at all. And if it was going to be a grey top, it should have been much darker, and without the stripey bit down the middle, it makes her look so flat-chested. A resounding 5/10. If I wore this and looked in the mirror I’d take it all off and start again lol.
She is incapable of accessorizing, just flat out incapable.
I do think that giving the royals these high ranks in the armed forces is daft. None of them are qualified to hold them.
That Wiglet has taken on a life of its own . Any minute now it’s going to take flight and leave Kate behind.
It’s a boring look.
It’s the same suit from two weeks ago. She looks fine but probably should have worn flats to this engagement.
That’s what I was thinking, flats, since she was obviously going to be climbing into a flight simulator. Flats just seem more suitable to an AFB.
Those people in the lower picture look delighted to see her. This is the first time I realized that “jazz hands” is contagious. I knew Peggy had become infected with it, but I didn’t know civilians could catch the virus as well. It is sad when it moves up to the face and causes starting eyes and pulls the faces muscles stiffly back into rictus grins.
I see that whatever health issues she may or may not have had, hasn’t stopped her from getting her face nipped and tucked. Priorities.
Well, at least she ditched the bronde mermaid wig. Her dark hair (wig) looks better.
Tom & Lorenzo note that the pattern on her suit is the Prince of Wales check, so even though she’s not militarily-themed today, she is still theming somewhat.
The wig looks worse when she pulls it over one of her shoulders.
Would’ve been nice if George had tagged along because he’s taking flying lessons isn’t he?
She stuck to the script about which kids loves a certain profession/hobby/spirt and revealed Louis wants to be a fighter pilot. Also revealed Charlotte is playing hockey. She actually stayed an extra 90 minutes to see families etc.
I do like the color of her shoes. In the light you can see they’re a deep sapphire.
She did have a cute interaction with a little girl as she met military families. She was interested in Kate’s raf pin and her watch. Don’t know if this was her granddad’s pin (he was a raf pilot in ww2) she wore on VE Day or not.
Does she even know what her big smile is for?
Boring. I liked it better when she dressed like a prissy Princess. Her business cosplay is utterly ridiculous. I feel like steaming green beans whenever I see her in a pant suit. Lanky is the word of the day.
That belt doesn’t match the suit and it definitely doesn’t match her earrings.
For the love of all that’s holy, I wish she’d get a stylist.
Only she can make a modern and expensive suit look like it came from Dress Barn.