Princess Kate Is "Pulling From Her Own Experiences" When It Comes to Princess Charlotte's More Grown-Up Wardrobe

Princess Charlotte’s transition to teenhood is coming soon, but for now, Prince William and Princess Kate’s 11-year-old daughter is busy with ballet, playing tennis and enjoying her final few years at Lambrook School. Now that she's not quite so little, her style has shifted to a more tween aesthetic—and a look at her last three Wimbledon outfits shows the source of Charlotte’s fashion inspiration.

As patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Princess Kate is an integral part of the Wimbledon championships every year, and she’s been bringing Princess Charlotte every summer since 2023.

Charlotte was just eight when she attended her first Wimbledon match in a Liberty-print floral dress that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Queen Elizabeth as a child. But since then, her tennis outfits have followed more closely in Princess Kate’s fashion footsteps, both in terms of style and designer.

Instead of dresses from traditional childrenswear brands like she's worn in the past, Princess Charlotte has been turning to some of her mom's favorite styles.

In 2024, Charlotte wore Kate-approved navy polka dots as she joined her mom and aunt Pippa Middleton for the men’s singles final, with her Guess dress bringing back memories of the dotted Alessandra Rich design Princess Kate wore to the championships in 2022.

"It felt like a bit of a milestone, like she's transitioning from a sweet little girl in smocked floral dresses to a slightly more grown-up tween vibe," Bethan Holt, style director at the Telegraph, told People at the time.

Charlotte upped the Wimbledon style stakes in a major way last summer, stepping out in a sleeveless ivory dress with black trim by none other than the Princess of Wales’s wedding dress designer, Sarah Burton. If the custom designer dress seems familiar, it’s because it gives off very similar vibes as the Emilia Wickstead style Princess Kate wore to the Royal Charity Polo Cup in 2022.

This year, Princess Kate looked to a more recent example from her closet when it came to her only daughter’s Wimbledon outfit, dressing Charlotte in a bespoke blue Jenny Packham dress. The British designer has been Kate’s go-to for eveningwear ever since she married into the Royal Family, but the dress also features the same cobalt blue shade and similar sleeve detail as the Roksanda midi dress the Princess of Wales wore to Wimbledon last summer.

Marie Claire contributor and royal fashion expert Christine Ross says that it’s natural for Kate to choose similar styles for her daughter, but with a tween twist.

“Princess Charlotte has the perfect fashion role model at home showing how to balance modern trends with what we expect from royal style,” Ross shares. “Kate knows how to dress for the unique royal spotlight, and as she selects outfits for Princess Charlotte’s most public moments she’s undoubtedly pulling from her own experiences.”

In terms of Charlotte's wardrobe, Ross adds that “leaning into girlish frills and youthful fashion details” makes Charlotte’s outfits appropriate for her age while also “sticking to the colors and styles that Princess Kate has already shown are tried and true.”

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