Kate Middleton has been in the public eye for over a decade — pretty much ever since she started dating Prince William back when they went to college together. In that time, we've seen her style evolve from that of a commoner college student to that of a future queen. Now, she's pretty much flawless every time she steps outside, and her hair is a big part of her signature style. And while she usually rocks a chic wavy blowout, the Duchess of Cambridge does experiment from time to time. We particularly love when Kate Middleton rocks a ponytail.
She has several different iterations of the pony, from high to low, classy to messy, and Kate makes every style under the sun look good.
The good thing about Kate's ponytails is that most of them should be fairly easy for her fans to recreate. There's always a reason why she opts for this kind of updo, and it's usually when she wants to keep things a little more simple and casual. In turn, the styles are more basic to create. Of course, because she's Kate Middleton, she still looks impeccable, but her elegant twists on a regular pony are pretty easy to replicate — especially her signature wrapped ponytail where a small section of her hair covers the elastic.
And unlike when she wears her headbands, which can cost thousands of dollars, it's free to copy Kate's ponytail styles. All someone needs is a hair tie and the determination to channel their inner Duchess of Cambridge.
For some serious hair inspiration, check out 20 of Kate's best ponies.
Signature Style
This is the type of ponytail that Kate Middleton most often goes for when she puts her hair up. It's sleek and simple, with a lock of her own hair wrapped around the base to hide the elastic. It's honestly probably one of her easiest hairstyles for fans to copy, since it is so simple. But even though it's not that hard to create, it always looks so elegant on her.
Wavy on the Water
When the duchess is doing something on the more athletic side, she usually lets her ponytail be a little more wild. Here, Kate's tousled waves really show through, and she's tucked the pony into her hat to keep it out of her face. Kate looks chic, but also ready for anything that comes her way — which is important since she's currently sailing a boat.
Super Bouncy
If Kate is still doing her own hair and makeup as she continues social distancing the best she can, then she totally rocked this look. Her ponytail is so high and bouncy here — and this is midway through an event no less! Our ponytails can never last past, like, minute four of us wearing them, so that must be one magic elastic holding her hair.
The Half-Up Style
For a trip to Cyprus, the Duchess of Cambridge shook up pretty much everything about her style. She wore wide-legged trousers instead of her tried-and-true coatdress, and she put her hair up in a bouncy half-pony. This was right after Meghan Markle married into the family, and many suspected that Kate was shaking up her fashion to compete with glamorous Meghan.
DIY Pony
She may have a style team to help dress her, do her makeup, and do her hair, but the duchess can DIY her own ponytails — and probably make them look just as good as her glam team could. This photo was snapped when Kate was about to get in a boat during her New Zealand tour, and she needed to make sure her hair was secure.
Wrapped Up
At a 2018 event, Kate tried out a trendy (at the time) statement piece to accentuate her ponytail: the velvet hair bow. It's fallen out of fashion in the past couple of years, but she was super chic when she tried it out. Kate Middleton actually was such a fan of the ponytail bow look that she tried it twice in the same month. Soon, though, she would trade out the velvet bow for the velvet headband to keep on trend.
Rainy Days
For the weather on this dreary March day, a ponytail was such a great hairstyle choice. Rain can ruin a perfectly good blowout and make hair frizzy, but Kate avoided all of that by simply putting her hair up. Now, she looks chic, and she doesn't have to worry about how she'll look in the paparazzi photos.
It's a win for everyone all around.
Twisted Up
This is another of Kate's looks that's totally easy to duplicate on our own hair. Make a loose low ponytail, section the hair above the elastic so there's a hole between the two halves, and tuck the ponytail through the hole. It creates a chic twist and can make a regular low pony look super glam in seconds. If Kate didn't have a whole hair team around her all the time, she could have done this one herself.
Quick & Easy
Kate seemingly did do this one herself. When the Duchess of Cambridge showed up to survey construction on a new bridge, her hair was down. But to get close to the work being done, she had to don a safety helmet and goggles. Kate took things a step further by throwing her hair up into a loose ponytail. It's messy, casual, and still super cute. We wish our thrown-together updos looked this good all the time.
Noble Knot
This style combines Kate's signature wrap pony with her signature half-up hairdo, and it's gorgeous. It keeps her hair out of her eyes but also looks super chic and it's a switch-up from her usual blowout or standard ponytail. It's a little bit of both, and we hope she brings the look back soon. (This is a photo from 2015, after all.)
The Bumpit
Remember Bumpits? The hair accessories were designed to give wearers extra volume on top, and it totally looks like Kate is using one here. We're sure she's not — since Bumpits went out of style years ago … if they ever even were in style — but she does have a lot of top volume going on. As a result, her ponytail is more of a supporting act to the overall towering nature of her hairdo.
Low Pony Knot
Here's Kate's signature wrap style, but in a low ponytail. There's a meme out there that when most people try a low pony, they look like a young colonial boy, but Kate looks so chic. It's honestly probably that she is hiding the elastic with a lock of her own hair that makes all the difference. That simple move elevates any kind of ponytail.
Functional Pony
Sometimes, the Duchess of Cambridge goes with an updo for fashion reasons, and sometimes, she does so for functional reasons. When she was practicing with her rowing team (pre-marriage), it just made sense for Kate to throw her hair up to keep it out of her way. The end result is a messy pony with tons of wisps flying out. But since many people aim for messy hairstyles these days, it makes her look totally chic.
Curls for Days
Usually, when we're putting our hair up in a ponytail, it's on its last legs before we have to wash it. But Kate Middleton's shiny locks and curly blowout make her hair look as fresh as ever. She chose to style her hair in a ponytail — no last resorts here! Again, Kate has it knotted around her elastic and her blown out waves cascade down her back. It's hard to make a ponytail elegant, but the duchess does it every time.
Red Carpet Worthy
Speaking of making a ponytail look elegant … Kate made this one red carpet worthy. She wore this style to the movie premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and it was a pretty bold choice for such a formal event. Prince William showed up in a bow tie and everything. But the duchess proved that casual updos can still be plenty fancy when paired with the right jewels and gown.
'60s Mod
This whole outfit just screams 1960s mod from the jacket to the hair. This ponytail was another last-minute change, where Kate showed up with her hair down and then needed to adjust so she could get into the airplane. We love how she swept it back loosely so that large wings cover her ears. It's a chic way to rock a low pony.
Braided Back
It's sort of tough to see in this photo, but this is one of the Duchess of Cambridge's more elaborate ponytails. Her stylist braided it back before securing it into a pony, so the whole thing has a cool woven look to it. Since her outfit was more casual, it was cool to see her dress things up with a fancier hairdo.
Good thing she bent down to pet these dogs so we could see the back of her hair!
Bangin'
For a short period of time in 2015, Kate Middleton tried out bangs. And while they weren't everyone's favorite on her (this was one of her most divisive hairstyles), they looked really cute with her signature wrapped pony. She recently brought the bangs back, and we'd love to see her recreate this ponytail look.
With a Fascinator
Now here's an interesting look. For a royal engagement in 2011, ahead of her wedding, Kate got dressy in a feathered fascinator but made the look a little more casual with a ponytail. It ended up being a really smart choice, because she was by the water, and it was super windy. If Kate had rocked a regular blowout, her hair would have been all over the place. The pony helped keep things more contained.
Focus
This royal is pretty competitive about sports — particularly, her sailing skills. Kate needed to be able to focus completely during this 2014 race in New Zealand, so up went the hair and on went the hat so she didn't have any distractions. We love her intensity here, and how she makes a casual messy pony look totally cute.
