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It’s been a rough week for the palace after the release of Omid Scobie’s book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival. In addition to the latest round of headlines, a Dutch version of the book mentioned two family members’ names who are the alleged “royal racists.” That’s why Kate Middleton had to step it up big time for her appearance on Thursday night at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The teal gown, designed by Safiyaa, with its stunning crystal neckline and gorgeous split sleeve that created a cape effect, is being described as her “revenge dress” on TikTok for quite a fascinating reason. Royal expert Amanda Matta, @matta_of_fact on the video platform, explained why she thinks this was a very strategic outfit for the Princess of Wales at the formal event. “It is clearly an attempt by [Kate’s] team to paint Kate in a certain way in the wake of whatever revelations that were going to come out in [Scobie’s] book.”
Matta continued, “I think her team at the palace was savvy enough to know that Kate was going to need a little bit of image boosting when this book came out.” She noted that her stylist would want to “underscore” that she’s “loyal, she’s a dutiful wife, but also that she’s conservative, traditional, appealing to the royalist base. Conservatives love to see a beautiful woman in a conservative gown — not too much skin showing, but still looking classy. They eat that up!”
The royal expert also differentiated from Princess Diana’s iconic black revenge dress after Prince Charles confessed his Camilla Parker-Bowles affair — in this case, Kate is sending a more subtle message. “I think it is a revenge dress on people who would dare criticize the royal family and Kate, showing that she has what it takes to make it in the family.” That’s quite a message to send out to the public through her fashion, especially when people are looking for answers after Scobie’s book allegations.
Before you go, click here to see more of Kate Middleton’s best royal fashion moments.
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