After more than a decade in the royal spotlight, we've seen a lot of Kate Middleton. She's done all kinds of events and engagements and tours around the world — and for each occasion, she's dressed impeccably, and her hair is usually perfectly blown out. Picturing the Duchess of Cambridge in one's mind usually conjures up an image of her softly waved hair, and maybe a coatdress and some pumps. Still, she has been known to mix it up on the hair front pretty regularly.
Kate Middleton's best hairstyles over the years are proof that she doesn't only rely on a good blowout to wow fans. We've seen Kate in buns, braids, bangs, and more in her decade of being a duchess, and we love it all.
A lot of work goes into making Kate's hair as flawless as we always see it. A couple of years ago, her hair stylist, Amanda Cook Tucker, posted on Instagram (and later deleted) a photo of all the products she was packing for Kate's 2018 tour of Sweden and Norway. Those products included 13 brushes (yes, 13), six combs, two blow dryers, and a ton of hair products. Kate uses several different types of hairspray to hold her styles together through every photo, and a product infused with argan oil to keep her locks oh-so shiny.
All that effort is certainly worth it when looking at the end result, but even when Kate goes more casual, her hair always looks great. Without her stylist, when she stays home, Kate's been doing her own hair — and it still looks flawless. Guess she's just born with it.
Here are 20 of her best hair looks of all time.
The World's Most Intricate Bun
One of Kate Middleton's first events as a newly married duchess took place at the elegant Royal Albert Hall, and Kate certainly dressed up for the occasion. In addition to her Jenny Packham dress, she had her hair done up in a fancy bun that was half braid, half twist, and 100% elegant. An updo was a smart choice, because it showed off the stunning back of the gown.
Forget Me Knot
Kate often rocks a half-up, half-down hairstyle, but she set this one apart by tying a neat knot in the up part of the hair. She wore the look to a dishware factory in early 2015, and it won over the crowd. It didn't hurt that her cute blue coatdress caught fans' attention, too. Between that and the hair, it was an overall simple but charming ensemble.
Doin' the Twist
This hairstyle is super easy for anyone to recreate, so we can all be just like Kate. Make a regular low ponytail, but place the elastic on loosely and not cinched to the head. Then, part the hair that comes before the elastic, take the ponytail, and tuck it through the gap. It creates a super cute twist with minimal effort.
Crown of Hair
For much of 2020, Kate was bringing big, padded headbands back into style, but she's rocked a more minimalist look in the past. On a 2016 tour of Canada, the princess kept her hair out of her face with a headband made to look like it was her own hair. The look was achieved with a faux braid, but the look still had a big impact.
Side Buns
Often, formal events call for an elegant updo, so Kate has rocked a lot of buns in her lifetime. But she is always changing them up so they don't get boring. For the 2019 Royal Ascot, she pulled her hair to the side and created a couple of knots rather than just one large bun. It's a chic, fun twist on a classic hairstyle. Princess Leia and her iconic side buns would approve.
'90s Style
The '90s are back, and even the Duchess of Cambridge knows it. For a 2017 engagement, she went with a simple hairstyle. Just two small chunks of hair pulled back from her face and held in place with … butterfly clips. (Yes, just like the ones that were popular in the 1990s.) Of course, hers aren't rainbow or glittery like ours, but they are butterfly-shaped, and we love the throwback.
Put It in a Bow
What's a quick and easy way to dress up what would otherwise be a boring ponytail? Well, if Kate Middleton has anything to say about it, she'd just tie a bow around the ponytail holder. On this day, Kate went with a black velvet hair bow to match her turtleneck, and it made her look instantly more glam. Amazon has a ton of hair bow options for cheap, so we can recreate this look ASAP.
She Looks Bangin'
Not everyone can pull off bangs, but of course the Duchess of Cambridge can. For a brief time in 2015, Kate added a cute fringe to her look. It was not long after she'd given birth to Princess Charlotte, and she seemed to just want to mix things up a bit on the hairstyle front. She's since let the bangs grow out, but we loved them while they lasted.
Imploding Bun
The way Kate's hair is tucked and pinned here makes it look like her bun is imploding inwards on itself. It's just one more way she makes an age-old classic style stand out and look a little different. Well, the credit should really go to her hairstylist, as whoever created this masterpiece deserves to be honored for the work of art that it is.
Braided Knot
This is an elevation of the regular half-up, half-down knot from earlier. Here, Kate's turned it into a knotted braid to make things a little fancier. She wore the look to The Fostering Excellence Awards, which required a little dressier hairdo than usual, but not as formal as a bun. This braided knot is a nice middle ground.
Messy Bun
When Meghan Markle came on the scene, she became known for her messy buns that she would wear to all kinds of fancy engagements — including her own wedding. But long before that, Kate was rocking her own messy bun on a 2016 visit to a national park in India. It still has a refined elegance to it, but it's more practical for a daytime park event than some of Kate's more slick buns.
Fake It Til Ya Make it
The duchess turned heads in 2017 when she rocked what seemed to be a short bob haircut, but was really just her long hair painstakingly tucked under to give the illusion of a bob. That's a smart move for anyone thinking about chopping their hair as they can try out the style first to see if they really like it. Kate didn't, since she stuck with her long hair — but it was a super fun style for a day.
Fishtail Braid
In early 2020, Kate again switched up her half-up, half-down style with a new take on the fishtail braid. The loops interlock in a complicated pattern up top while the rest of her hair cascades down. It's a gorgeous look, one we hope she brings back soon but might be a little hard for her to recreate when she's doing her own hair for Zoom meetings at home. But once the hairstylist is back, she'll be in business.
'Game of Thrones' Braids
When Kate donned this complex braid style for the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, fans instantly started comparing her to a Game of Thrones character. Daenerys Targaryen was always known for her complicated braids, and this look is right up there with them. On Kate, two braids from the sides of her head meet in the middle and trail down while the rest of her hair is perfectly blown out.
Inspired.
Drop It Low
There's a running joke online that people often feel like a young colonial boy when putting their hair in a low ponytail. It just doesn't always work out right for us commoners, but Kate pulls off the style effortlessly — and we love the section of hair wrapped around the base of the ponytail to make it look like there's no elastic holding it together.
Half a Bun
Here, the duchess has combined two of her favorite hairstyles — the bun and the half-up, half-down — into one look. It's quite an interesting choice, and it certainly wouldn't work on everyone, but Kate totally pulls it off. She wore the look to the Ronald McDonald House in 2017, and it's stayed with us ever since. She hasn't brought it back, but it's due for a resurgence.
Crisscross, Applesauce
This isn't quite a braid or even a fishtail braid, but it is an intricate woven pattern that pulls the sides of Kate's hair tight and lets the rest of it tumble effortlessly down her back. She wore the style to a formal event, the 60th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation, but went with a more casual look than usual.
No bun for her this time.
Pearly Whites
The bun was back not long after, and in a spectacular fashion. The duchess uses hair accessories so sparingly (a clip here, a bow there, maybe a headband if we're lucky), but she went all out for a 2012 tea party. Her delicately twisted bun was adorned with pearls (we bet they're even real) that coordinated with her white lacy dress.
Gorgeous.
Braided Bun
This is another combo hairstyle, this time part braid and part bun. The bun is rather severe, perfectly tucked in with no hairs out of place — but the braided belt softens it up a bit and makes it much more interesting to look at than a regular bun would be. Kate tried this style out for the annual Remembrance Sunday Service that honors those lost at war.
Double Trouble
It's the classic half-up, half-down but with a twist — or rather, two twists. Kate's stylist for her appearance at the Imperial War Museum launch twisted the sides of her hair into two neat curly-Qs. This is another look that probably wouldn't be too hard to recreate at home, but the perfect coiled blowout the duchess has will be a little tougher to master.
