Take a bow, Kate Middleton
ONLY a woman at ease with herself and the world wears red and pink together.
It’s a combo that looks terrific but needs poise and chutzpah to pull off.
It says: “I’ve arrived” or “Don’t mess with me”. Think Michelle Obama, Victoria Beckham or Princess Diana after she figured out her husband was in love with another woman.
It’s no surprise then that the Duchess of Cambridge has now joined the raspberry-meets-rose alumni.
Sitting square-shouldered at her nephew’s christening and sporting the best royal legs since her late motherin-law gallivanted in her gym pants, the woman long derided as “waity Katie” is no longer hanging nervously around or off anyone.
In the last year the woman branded a “jointed doll” and “shop window mannequin” by one of the world’s leading authors has morphed into a 24 carat Queen in waiting.
Confident, relaxed and so obviously sure of her place and purpose, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton has adeptly and without fanfare positioned herself as the royal family’s greatest asset.
Mark my words, “All hail Queen Kate” they’ll be claiming in London once they’ve got over the thrill of their fortnight-long British summer.
The clothes are the least of it — though the pink Stella McCartney dress (pre-worn) paired with a red Juliette Botterill headband and Sex and the City-worthy red stilettos was pure Princess Margaret-era va-va-voom. She looked like a woman who’d happily sneak away from the cucumber sandwiches and pay the babysitter for an extra hour so she could squeeze in an afternoon romp with her husband.
While the world has been focused on the other Duchess — the one with the tricksy Dad, nutty sister and the new baby she seemingly wanted to hide away in an attic — Kate has calmly segued from new mum into Queen consort.
It’s as if she’s binge-watched the first two series of The Crown, consulted with her mum and sister and written notes on three sides of A4 on “How to be a Queen”. She’s clearly had a few one-on-one cuppas with the monarch under the guise of raising a future king and has taken away tips for herself.
How else to explain her royalling like a boss? From Trooping the Colour where she smiled so delightedly while ensuring her multiple offspring didn’t pick their noses, throw a strop or suck their thumb (Louis momentarily went rogue) to rebranding her HRH into Her Royal Horticulturalist (the Chelsea Flower Show) to her new post as patron saint of early childhood, Kate is pitch-perfect.
The juggling of roles — albeit with a nanny, dressing her kids in hand-medowns and sending out a family Christmas card where her choice of jumper could well have been chosen to camouflage porridge stains doesn’t make us feel like she’s “one of us” but a better one of them. More normal, more solid, more kind.
Seeing her in red and pink, so assured and happy as she strides into her ninth year of marriage is the antithesis of Princess Diana at the same stage. As they approached their eighth wedding anniversary Charles and Diana went on a memorable tour of Kuwait where the princess’s pink and red Catherine Walker coat dress couldn’t mask her misery. Editors called it: the marriage was over though it would take them another three years to formally announce it. How heartening that Kate and William look more in love than ever. With three kids, a synchronicity born of ease and trust, and stand-alone roles which give them something to talk about in the evenings, they’re clearly Team Cambridge.
The way Prince Louis reached for his dad during Trooping the Colour and the revelation that Kate loves to cook her husband’s favourite meals even with a personal chef on the payroll indicates that they share parenting and are deeply invested in each other.
Conversely, she is flourishing in her multiple roles. She’s an instinctive mother, comes from a rock-solid family and has discretion running through her veins.
At 37 she’s found her style and is taking risks — the wide-legged pants, the purple Gucci blouse worn backwards, the bold iterations of black and white at both Wimbledon and the Order of the Garter service. She’s also grasped younger than most the secret to a happy life — having a purpose, a work ethic and an empathy for others.
She’s proof you can be made royal; you don’t necessarily have to be born into it. Angela Mollard is a News Corp columnist.