Princess Kate wore McQueen for a Windsor Castle reception for the Red Roses

We’ve gotten used to the Princess of Wales’s selective over-the-top “performances” when she knows she’s being photographed, but yesterday was something else. Kate was extremely pumped to spend time with the Red Roses, England’s national women’s rugby team. The team won the women’s Rugby World Cup last September, in a widely-watched match held in London. Kate didn’t bother to go. She didn’t offer any excuses for why she refused to go. Then she waited three and a half months to hold a reception for the team at Windsor Castle. That reception went down on Thursday, and the photos in this post are from the reception.

It was all very… lights, camera, jazz hands! And gurning! But whatever, I hope those rugby ladies enjoyed their time with Red Gumby. Her suit was from Alexander McQueen, and it was a repeat. It’s been years since she wore it though, so at least she went for a deep cut. Tatler claimed that while Kate went solo at the reception, she “paid tribute” to Prince William with her earrings. Wait until you hear the tribute: her earrings are pearls, and pearls are William’s birthstone. Guys… Kate’s not paying tribute to that bald demon every time she wears pearls.

Kate said something halfway controversial to the Red Roses – she talked about how schoolkids shouldn’t be divided by gender when they play sports: “It’s such a great game, actually, they shouldn’t necessarily need to pigeonhole boys and girls into particular sports too early… Obviously, as they get physically stronger… George, now, if I play at home, I do not want to get tackled by George! But no, up to a certain age it’s great. Sports like swimming at school is very much co-ed.” Well, I agree in theory although I wasn’t a sporty kid and I hated having to play coed sports. But whatever. Kate has an opinion! Boys and girls should play coed sports when they’re little!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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93 Responses to “Princess Kate wore McQueen for a Windsor Castle reception for the Red Roses”

  1. Yes the over emoting was on full display!! Theme dressing was also on full display too!! She hit all her marks with this event.

    • Miranda says:

      The overemoting is annoying when she does it around kids, but kind of understandable. Lots of people act like that when they’re not used to dealing with any children but their own. But having that same energy when she’s meeting with actual grown adults is SO WEIRD and off-putting. Even just looking at the photos makes me uncomfortable!

      • Mustang Sally says:

        I overemote when I am nervous – especially if I am speaking to multiple people. I still have a touch of social anxiety (it’s better than it was when I was younger) – much of it comes from lack of confidence (for me).

      • Bqm says:

        I do too. Especially with the hands. And I’m older than Kate. Even decades of being in public events and I’m not better. I don’t know if that’s Kate’s deal but I shudder to think about what I’d look like in worldwide photos.

      • Becks1 says:

        I use my hands constantly when I talk – I think a lot of people do – but what’s offputting about her is that if you listen to a video of an event, her hands dont usually match what she’s saying. Like if you tried to write a script based on the pictures it would not line up at all.

      • Miranda says:

        I have social anxiety issues myself, so I can sympathize with that, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on with Kate. She wears striking colors and obvious wigs and ostentatious jewelry to relaxed daytime engagements. She (and/or her mother) commissions frequent hagiographies exhorting her supposed charm and beauty and dedication, insisting that she’s single-handedly saving the whole institution of monarchy. It’s all an attempt to draw attention to herself, and the overemoting is just another part of the performance.

      • Me at home says:

        Media training and public speaking training could both really help here. Take it from an introvert who knows. She may have already had them, but she clearly forgot the lessons so it’s time to bring in the experts again.

    • Tessa says:

      Keen married into a family where she would need to meet people. She should have gotten public speaking lessons . Diana was barely 20 when she married in. She wanted to improve her speech and took lessons. Keen couldn’t be bothered she also likes to be the center of attention which also causes the exaggerated manner.

      • Inge says:

        Kate took lessons to aquire a fake accent but nothing else, you know stuff that could have actually helped.

  2. Neners says:

    She is so thin. It’s crazy!

    • Amy T says:

      That was my reaction – she looks impossibly thin, and not in a good way.

    • Ginger says:

      Her outfit really showcases it.

      • First comment says:

        Unfortunately, at this point, I’m afraid she finds it a compliment 🥺

      • 2131Jan says:

        Speaking of the outfit, whose bright idea was it to wear something so matchy-matchy with the walls? Literally stand her anywhere in it and she completely melds into the wallpaper. Or maybe that’s what she was hoping for?

      • Becks1 says:

        She stands out in the group picture bc they’re all in navy, which I’m sure was her goal. Plus, red roses – she had to wear red lol.

        but yes its swimming on her. I feel like every time we see her in public she’s somehow thinner than the last time.

      • Mac says:

        I love the suit but it’s clearly too big. Is she not altering her clothes because she expects to gain weight in the near future?

    • koko says:

      I watched the video of her going in with the umbrella and my first thought was she looks like a walking skeleton. I don’t like to comment on other people’s weight but, it’s getting scary looking. Where is her family?? friends??? It must be so obvious to them.

      • Roy says:

        I don’t think they care sadly. Kate is serving her purpose to her family. Their debts are paid, mansion is paid, they have a seat in the Royal Booths and they are now related to the Future King of England.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        You can’t help someone who doesn’t want help. If she is in the grips of a severe ED to the point of denial then there is not much the people close to her can do.

  3. Sam says:

    Oh wow, fillers (and Botox) everywhere! One of the most interesting things about her is how her face changes weekly (or monthly, because we see her so little).
    Where are her potato bags under her eyes, for example?

    Also, every time I see this outfit I get angry again… Meghan wore this exact suit in white in a photoshoot and it was so obvious that Kate would have to wear it shortly afterwards.

  4. Tessa says:

    The long wig. Jazz hands. Wide grins. And she must mention one of the kids. Pointing She should have mentioned Charlotte instead of George. Or mentioned Charlotte along with george.

  5. Bethany says:

    Hasn’t anyone ever told her or William that it’s rude to point?
    She acts like an idiot. I’d be embarrassed being around her and embarrassed for her.

    • Elly says:

      My British mother definitely taught me that it’s rude to point.

    • Lianne says:

      Oh man yeah William loves to point but you know what–he got it from Charles-he does that too. (QE2 would have never however)

    • FancyPants says:

      I think that’s kind of a personal thing now. I was taught that when I was growing up in 1980s Alabama, but I never understood why it would be so awful and I have never been offended when I see someone point at something.

  6. Amy Bee says:

    I suspected that she might wear red.

  7. Tessa says:

    She has the red look at me outfit. She makes herself the center of attention especially in that group portrait

  8. 809Matriarch says:

    Humph. Still copying.

  9. E says:

    I love her outfit (especially the jacket) and typically her fashion isn’t to my taste.

    I’m also cackling at “bald demon”. Thank you, Kaiser, for continuing to create great nicknames for the other brother.

    • Mustang Sally says:

      I like red on her. And the suit, regardless of copy-keening, looks nice – no buttons, frills or puffed shoulders.

      • Tessa says:

        I don’t like red on her. Especially since she wore that cape dress the one where she got out of the car at that reception

    • Emmy Rae says:

      I agree about the outfit.

      The question is… Why Now?? Do you all want to come to my Christmas party in March as well?

      • Barb Mill says:

        She’s always into theme dressing so whe had to wear red while meeting with the Red Roses team.

    • Lucy says:

      I do like this suit, don’t love the color or that they didn’t hem the bottom (she’s 6’+ with heels on, how could the pants leg’s be so long??). It does just hang on her, she looks extremely thin in these photos with means she’s probably scary skinny in real life.

      Also I couldn’t tell from the quote if she meant kids should do a range of sports early, not just pick one, or if she was talking about the coed thing.

      • BeanieBean says:

        I wasn’t sure if it was boys shouldn’t be funneled into certain sports & girls into others, or they should all play the same sports together. They’re different points. George & Louis play on their school’s rugby team but Charlotte only plays with her brothers at home. Why? No girls’ rugby at their school?

        And NO! There’s no homage to William or whatever it was when Kate wears pearls. They totally & completely make up all that signaling with their jewelry stuff. 🙄

  10. Tessa says:

    Girls can get physically stronger too not just boys

    • Beautitude says:

      I feel like it’s very stereotypical in her approach to sports. I doubt Charlotte is allowed to play rugby. Kids under 9 typically play flag co-ed and then depending the location begin contact rugby about 10. For rugby I strongly believe in girls/women being able to play separately. The Red Roses was a massive team in the World Cup very physically dominant, super strong themselves, so it’s offensive to compare them to young boys.

    • Nic919 says:

      She used to look athletic as a teen. She then shrunk herself to fit William’s aesthetic and has continued to diminish herself all for a title and a tiara.

    • Becks1 says:

      The sports comment was interesting because I couldn’t figure out what she was saying. Here, girls and boys ALWAYS compete separately for swimming, but at least in my area (which takes swimming seriously and has produced some okay olympic swimmers) the boys and girls practice together. When my brother swam in college it was the same thing only they would separate out by specialty and events more.

      And often rec sports are co-ed (or can be) until a certain age. Our rec soccer league is co-ed until maybe 2nd grade? third grade? And if girls want to play baseball and not softball they can and often when they’re younger there’s a good deal of girls on the t-ball and baseball teams.

      Anyway I couldn’t figure out if she was just referencing rugby or if she was trying to say that girls should be able to play the same sports as boys or what.

      She really could have been a champion for women’s sports (which still struggle) and maybe, I dunno, attended the world cup final in australia (we always give William a hard time for missing it but she could have gone as well) or actually attended this rugby final. but alas.

  11. Julie says:

    She had this event organized to highlight the win of the team and yet, in the sea of marine uniforms on the players, she dress in red to get all eyes on her. This need to get all the attention is a mental disease.

  12. Jan says:

    Very animated with large pupils.

  13. sunniside up says:

    She looks as if that suit was made for a larger person, I hadn’t realised just how thin she has become and the bulging eyes in the third photo down, what happened there, she looks manic. She looks as if she needs help.

  14. ThatGirlThere says:

    She has a crazed look in her eyes, but that may be the Botox injected into her brow, her wiglet is shiny but too long and looks rail thin…she looks her normal Keen self.

  15. SarahCS says:

    These poor women, I hope some of them are genuinely enjoying the experience.

    This reminds me of years back in my recruitment days when the reward for offices that hit their target the previous year was a day in Liverpool. Great place, terribly organised. The joke after was that hitting the target got you a day in Liverpool, missing it would have got you two.

  16. tamsin says:

    It’s a beautiful suit, but the front of the jacket looks odd. I think it has lost its shape. The closure on the jacket appears to have been moved over to accommodate her stick figure and the line has been ruined. It just hangs on her.

    • Nic919 says:

      The asymmetrical cut up front only works when properly fitted. Since she’s even thinner than when it was first made for her it looks like the tailor got drunk and forgot how to make a suit.

    • Barb Mill says:

      It’s an asymmetrical suit. It’s suppose to look like that and it’s actually a well designed one in my opinion. It’s a repeat so it looks to big because she has lost so much weight.

  17. Beana says:

    I don’t typically notice just how botoxed and scary thin she is, but when she’s juxtaposed with healthy women it’s shocking.

  18. ABritGuest says:

    I like the red suit. As annoying as it is that Kate copies Meghan’s style at least we occasionally get better more modern fashion from Kate.

    • Debbie says:

      The asymmetrical hemline immediately brought Meghan to mind. Then I thought, “Hm, no pussy bows or ruffles” Kate must have had Meghan in mind, but I still don’t care for the stick look.

    • ShazBot says:

      I’m actually super bored with Kate’s monochrome now. Like yes, okay, you’re wearing all one colour. I think it’s because she doesn’t know how to style anything and her hair is always the same.
      I never thought I’d say this but bring back the occasional coat dress!! Switch it up, Kate!

  19. Connie says:

    Three months how pathetic.

  20. jais says:

    Hope the players had fun and there was more to the visit. Is there another room with snacks and drinks??? It just looks a little awkward and boring, as in if I had to trek it over to WC and take pictures for Kate’s photo-op of support, I’d want some more perks.

    • Paisley25 says:

      I believe the team had a private tour of Windsor Castle. I think it would have been more fun and special if Kate led the tour and showed her favorite parts of the castle.

  21. First comment says:

    Well, red is great on her and she should wear it more often..nobody mentions how long she stayed with the team and there weren’t any footage. At this point, they stay managed her whole appearance because they are afraid that her whole weird behaviour would become common knowledge.. she seems to enjoy being the centre of attention..as usual, there were a reference to her children…nothing about those women’s achievements or efforts..She doesn’t wear the big blue again..

  22. M says:

    Two events in a row with no Big Blue. When Meghan’s ring was “missing” it was a scandal, but the Rota never mentions when Kate doesn’t wear hers.

  23. Eleonor says:

    Call me crazy but she looks like Tom Cruise when she smiles like that!

  24. Jensa says:

    She looks utterly demented in some of those photos.

    • lamejudi says:

      Exactly the word I thought, too-demented.

      Princess Buttons needs to take some leadership lessons before she’s crowned Keen Kween.

  25. Isabella says:

    DM has a big story on how she drove her own car to this function, she held her own umbrella! It was a little black car. She is so normal.

    • jais says:

      Noooo. She’s right down the road in a secured area. Is that supposed to relatable? Bc it’s just like woowww, sure, here’s your gold sticker for driving your car a short distance.

      • Becks1 says:

        Ha for a second I was like “she was driving herself through London with a full motorcade like a normal person” then I remembered this was at Windsor Castle. she literally drove herself over Windsor grounds for petes sake ll.

  26. Sharon says:

    Kate & Will are always so performative because there is no real sincerity there. They’re acting & trying to pretend to care when really they just want to get back on their helicopter to one of their homes and make a gin & tonic. I was reading something on Substack the other day, the writer had stayed with friends in England for 5 days (long ago) & the family had a nanny. She said after the morning run, the nanny took care of tea & bedtime. She said it was blissful. So basically, after the kids go to school, the nanny takes care of them the rest of the day. That’s the life of Will & Kate. So what exactly do they do all day?

    • Tessa says:

      Does scooter stay with her at that residence at all

    • Royal Downfall Watcher says:

      That is my question too! Don’t get me wrong, I am sure having nannies and chefs and butlers and cleaning ladies to help you in your mansion is amazing – but to just do NOTHING seems insane right? I would get bored! Read a book! Learn a language! Volunteer! SOMETHING.

      I am genuinely baffled how someone can do NOTHING when they have EVERYTHING

  27. Elly says:

    Maybe she got the message that she needs to “work” more. @Kaiser thank you for teaching me a new word “gurning”. It’s so apt and descriptive of Kate in this situation. Maybe she’s nervous? She seems over excited about something. At least she’s getting out there and showing support but she needs to tone it down a couple of notches.

    • BeanieBean says:

      3.5 months late. Some support. 🙄. I saw these photos yesterday & thought it had something to do with the Winter Olympics, since they’re visiting the curling team next month. Now that I realize it, how dumb of me! There’s no rugby in the Winter Olympics! 🤦‍♀️. And Katie & Billy Boy visit TWO Olympic teams?! Pshaw! 😉

  28. Betsy says:

    George is not a particularly big kid. The reason she doesn’t want to get tackled by George is because she weighs 80 pounds.

  29. Bethany says:

    How does no one comment on how she looks and acts like she’s on something? I don’t understand how she gets away with this manic behavior.

    • BLACK ELDERBERRY says:

      After several times showing off her bare buttocks without pantyhose, a petticoat, or panties at official events in Poland and abroad, the bar for her is now below sea level.
      A vulgar women with exhibitionist tendencies. At one of Queen Elizabeth’s last state banquets, standing with William and a prime minister, she suddenly announced, loudly enough for the cameras to record, that she was going to the toilet. This is unbreakable material.

    • Elly says:

      Maybe it’s these specific photos but I agree that her behaviorisms are strange. She usually seems somewhat aloof, arrogant and self-entitled but in these photos she looks acutely uncomfortable. I hope she and William are getting therapy. They both seem on the edge of falling apart emotionally.

      • HeatherC says:

        In order to get therapy they’d have to admit something was wrong or something needs work. But they’re perfect, remember. Their marriage is perfect, they are perfect, and everything is just perfect.

  30. wolfmamma says:

    The hair.. wig.. this is the future Queen? So very very sad.

    Looking like she wants to be always to be her early 20s.. or even late teens.. the huge white collar dress is forever burned into my memory

    This red suit on her skeletal frame.. yikes

    The monarchy is deconstructing itself before our eyes.

  31. kelleybelle says:

    Had Meghan not come onto the scene, Kate would’ve worn another coat-dress to this event I’m guessing …

  32. KC says:

    I hate her in pantsuits. She looks like a red chili which is a nice change from her green bean look. Guessing she has to get a face massage after these events. My cheeks hurt just looking at the photos.

  33. Kittenmom says:

    She looks like a gigantic red lollipop in these pictures – oversized head atop that skeletal body. The fact that her mouth is gaping open all the time only makes her head look bigger.

  34. TN Democrat says:

    Lort. It is VERY hard to have any sympathy for this vapid woman. She bent over backwards chasing Willy for a over decade and has been his doormat throughout their marriage. She does not have the social skills or grace for the role she groveled for over a decade to get. She would have been much better off married to a rich anonymous man than in a role that requires social skills and public speaking abilities she does not possess. She has never had a real job and has an overbearing mother who has pressured her into a living situation with a destructive man and toxic institution. She seems mentally stuck at 20 and behaves/dresses accordingly. No middle aged lady in her 40s should be trotted out for public appearances while visibly altered and this skeletal. She is very ill and none of this is normal or acceptable.

  35. jferber says:

    TNDemocrat, I agree with everything you said. Also, Kate is very literal-minded. So for Red Roses she wears red, for Ireland she wears green, etc. Water finds its own level so I surmise that William is also very literal-minded–plus a lot of anger/entitlement issues.

  36. Kathleen says:

    Alexander McQueen fashion house must be very nervous that Kate has worn their design again. The Kate curse has destroyed many a design house.

  37. SUN says:

    I’m sorry, insinuating that a 12 year old boy is stronger/could outperform an adult woman athletically IN A ROOM FULL OF PROFESSIONAL FEMALE ATHLETES is so offensive to me.

    And once again, the kid’s main hobbies align perfectly with the visit of the day. Is George a rugby savant or a tennis star today? Come on.

  38. Cheesecat says:

    Why does she always mention her kids. I know that this sounds mean but doesn’t she have life outside her kids

    • HeatherC says:

      Sadly, successfully delivering 3 healthy children is the only accomplishment she can claim without an emotional support poll or prop up exaggerated article (“expert” at early years for example)

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