Last year, Catherine, Princess of Wales made a gallant return to the annual Garter Day celebrations, one of her first public duties since she had stepped back in the wake of her cancer diagnosis.
Her first appearance at the Order of the Garter Ceremony was all the way back in 2008, when she was dating Princess William. In the years since, Garter Day has become a particular style boon for Kate. Often, she’s opted for favourite designers like Alexander McQueen and Catherine Walker for her coat dresses, and millinery by Juliette Botterill. While she has also often reworn pieces from her wardrobe, Garter Day is a moment where Kate Middleton has fun with her accessories and styling.
To celebrate Britain’s oldest order at Windsor Castle, this year, the Princess wore Patrick McDowell. The butter-yellow, tailored coat-dress features a sculpted silhouette that flares at the waist and an angular lapel. In keeping with McDowell’s commitment to sustainable and local practices, the garment is made from a bespoke English rose silk damask, in collaboration with Britain’s oldest silk mill, Stephen Walters, in Sudbury. She paired it with cream-coloured pointed pumps and a wide-brimmed hat.
Middleton presented McDowell with the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design last year, in recognition of the designer’s sustainably conscious work with his namesake brand.
“It has been a wonderful collaboration, developing one of my existing pieces with Stephen Walters, for Her Royal Highness,” McDowell shared with Vogue.
In 2025, Catherine opted to rewear one of her favourite dresses: a Self-Portrait blazer-skirt style dress, trotted out for several royal engagements prior and since. And just this weekend at Trooping the Colour, she wore a new Catherine Walker coat-dress in a summery cool blue, making for a sweet, matching mother-son moment with Princes George and Louis.
The Order of the Garter is Britain’s oldest chivalric order, established by King Edward III. The event sees the King, Queen, wider royal family, and up to 24 companions honoured for their public service. “Companions of the Garter” are chosen personally by the king to honour those who have held public office, or who have contributed in a particularly poignant way to national life, or who have served the king personally.
