When it comes to living the royal lifestyle, there are a lot of gowns, tiaras, and high heels involved. The lovely Kate Middleton has spent the last decade of her life dressing in a regal way, and although this usually means dressing to the nines, every once in a while, she has the opportunity to wear a trusty sundress during her engagements. Now, of course, sundress means something completely different to us than it does to the Duchess of Cambridge, but the idea behind it is pretty much the same.
Kate's royal sundresses are definitely fancier and more elegant than anything most people would wear, but the duchess probably considers them to be dressing down. That's the reality when you have a closet filled with formal clothing! Even though her sundresses are a little out of our league, they're still the most attainable Kate style in our opinion.
And now that summer is here, it's a good time to take a step back and look at some of Kate's best sundress styles. She's rocked everything from longer, flowy dresses to super bright, structured designs, and all of them have looked completely fit for this future queen.
We're sure Kate loves wearing her elegant gowns and fancy coats, but the summer season is truly where she shines. Who doesn't love feeling pretty in a nice casual dress? Here are 30 of her chicest ones.
Special Admirer
It's always nice when someone appreciates an outfit as much as the wearer, and it looks like the photographer wasn't the only one who was loving her sundress. Prince Louis seemed quite enamored with his mom as they watched Prince William compete in his charity polo match.
Bouncy Yellow
This light yellow sundress almost gave Kate a serious wardrobe malfunction early on in her royal career, but she handled the unruly wind with all of the grace and class of a veteran duchess. And now we hear she might be sewing weights into her hems to avoid this ever happening again with her breezier dresses.
Standing Pretty
There's no better way to admire a sweet sundress than Kate standing front and center in the middle of all the action, right? Although, no matter where the duchess is standing, the cameras always seem to find her — and it's no wonder why! She's a natural beauty with a flawless sense of style. Everyone wants a photo of that.
Polka Dot Beauty
Kate always brings her fashion A-game once the Wimbledon tennis tournament rolls around every year, and this sweet polka dot number was definitely among her best courtside outfits. People usually think of polka dots as juvenile, but Kate is here to tell us that this is definitely not true. She makes them look so sophisticated.
Soft & Flowy
The two important things that make a regular dress have the sundress quality are definitely softness and flowiness. This baby blue number that the duchess wore when she was new to the royal family definitely meets all of the requirements for a rock star sundress. If only she'd bring this one back out of her closet for a second wear.
Brighter Than the Sun
We don't know quite how she does it, but Kate is the expert at rocking bright yellow sundresses. Yellow is a hard color to pull off, but it's one of Kate's best shades. She has a couple of similar dresses in her fashion repertoire, but this sunny structured sundress is definitely one of our favorites. We love the textured floral pattern.
Breaking the Rules
Not only was Kate able to go casual with her adorable sundress, but she was also able to get away with wearing wedges — all because Queen Elizabeth wasn't present. The monarch is known to dislike that footwear style, but that doesn't stop Kate from breaking them out with some of her more elegant sundresses.
Ready for the Tropics
Honestly, we love Kate when she's totally English and prim-looking, but one of our favorite Kate styles is when she is completely ready for the beach. She and William have taken a few tropical royal tours over the years, and she always breaks out her best sundresses for the occasion. Love the lei accessory here, too.
Yellow — Again
The duchess of yellow strikes again! Seriously, most people are completely washed out by such a bright color, but Kate never fails to look completely glowy and radiant when she pops on a stunning yellow sundress like this one. She wore this early in her royal career one on of her first royal tours with William.
Good Ole Peter Pan Collar
Oh, the days when the Peter Pan collar was the style trend of the moment. Although most of us might look back and wonder what we were thinking, Kate can look back at this photo and breathe a sigh of relief. She made the Peter Pan collar timeless with this black sundress. And hey, when the collar comes back into style once more, she can break this dress out again.
Stunning in Red
We absolutely love how Kate never shies away from sporting bright colors. Even though she may not be as trailblazing with her royal fashion as her risk-taking duchess counterpart, Meghan Markle, Kate is bold in her own way. Next to yellow, we might love her the most in red.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
One With the Wind
Is there anything better than the wind actually cooperating and making a sundress look better? Nope! And it's also no surprise that our dear Kate managed to get the weather on her side while she was wearing this pretty sundress. After seeing how good she looks here, we forgive the wind for that yellow dress incident.
Perfectly Coordinated
We love a color-coordinated couple! Although Prince William's suit (and deep purple tie) isn't a direct match, there's no denying that he sure looks great up against Kate's pale yellow sundress. After all, yellow and purple are opposites on the color wheel, which makes them complementary shades. These two know what they're doing.
The Duchess of Yellow
There's definitely no better place to wear a bright yellow sundress than Wimbledon, right? Unless she accidentally distracted any of the players on the court! Kate is always on theme and very animated during the tournament, and we'd be lying if we said we didn't look forward to it every year just to see what the duchess puts on.
Covered in Lace
Lace on a sundress is pretty much the most perfect pairing we could think of — especially for our dear Kate Middleton. We all remember the amazing lace that was on her wedding dress, so any time she wears it from here on out, we can't help but get that fuzzy feeling again. We're sure she does, too!
Fit for the Kids
The trick for a royal mom (or any mom for that matter) is to find kid-proof sundresses. Kate definitely seems to have found a few that she can break out for those days when she has to chase around George, Charlotte, and Louis for hours on end at William's polo matches. That's just what she did in this blue striped dress and cork wedges.
A Little Unorthodox
This long-sleeved sundress is a little bit more out there than Kate usually wears for warm weather days, but no surprise to anyone, she looked absolutely amazing in it. We love when Kate really gets into the vacation mood during the Cambridges' royal trips. On this occasion, the duo was on a tour of India and Bhutan.
Not Afraid of Pattern
Whoever said a good sundress strictly has to be pale colors or simple lace? Kate has never been one to shy away from wearing bright patterns, and this geometric look is definitely one of her most elegant. It's also a wrap dress, which has become one of Kate's go-to styles for her summertime wardrobe. You can never go wrong with a classic wrap.
Something New
Who doesn't love when Kate breaks out a completely new outfit for a royal engagement? Even though we had seen those trusty wedges before, her soft and muted sundress was a fresh addition to her closet. We hope we see this one many times in the future! We especially love the fluttery sleeves. She's like a butterfly.
A More Upscale Take
Our idea of a sundress and a sundress fit for a duchess are two completely different things. Kate basically lives in fancy gowns and coatdresses, so when she wears something a little bit more casual in the summer, such as this beautiful pale pink number, it's pretty much considered a sundress for her. And it looks fantastic.
In Black & White
Visiting the National Maritime Museum, Kate brought out this simple but classy number, paired with what looks like Princess Diana's sapphire earrings. And the fact that she looks so happy? Well, that just must mean she loves this dress, too. It's so sophisticated and chic, because of its minimalism. Not every dress needs a bold pattern.
Pink & Purple Florals
There aren't too many sundress days in London, so Kate totally takes advantage of them when they come — even if it means sporting a longer sleeve. This floral pattern is so fun, and we love the tie at the neck. It might be warm on an American summer day, but if the sun's out in London, this dress was probably perfect.
A Pop of Color
Blue is another one of Kate's best colors (OK, OK, she just looks good in the whole rainbow), and this blue floral dress is gorgeous on her. Don't get us wrong — she looks good in white too, but this pop of blue really pulls the look together. Plus, it makes the outfit scream "springtime."
In Blue & Coral
Kate wore this dress for the Patron's Lunch to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday. Something about these happy colors definitely seems perfect for a birthday to us! Not to mention the fact that, like we said before, blue is totally Kate's color. And coral. All of them. All the time. She's just stunning.
Strolling With William
For this one, we're taking it back to 2015. Remember when Kate had bangs? That hairstyle may have passed for her, but she'd definitely still wear this dress on a sunny day in 2022. It's the perfect amount of business casual without being too stuffy. In other words, it's a classic forever. Come on, Kate. Pull it back out for this summer.
Before She Was Royal
Kate used to love a mini sundress when she was still dating William. Now that she's the future queen, though, she's toned her look down a bit to be more modest. But the pre-duchess photos still exist, and that's how we get to see this adorable outfit. It was the perfect choice for a day in the sun watching her man play polo.
Show the Shoulder
Kate bared her shoulders in this dress for an event celebrating the Queen's birthday. She straight up looks like the red-dress dancer emoji on our phones. We love it when Kate switches up her style and tries something outside of a standard coatdress. Those are nice, but this is so fresh.
Pretty Florals
When Kate designed a garden exhibit for the 2019 Chelsea Flower Show, Queen Elizabeth came out to give it her official stamp of approval. The summer day allowed Kate to wear a breezy gown with a floral pattern — to fit the flower show theme of course! Even the Queen rocked some florals under her green coat.
Garden Attire
Speaking of flowers and gardens, one of Kate's first post-lockdown engagements was planting flowers to bring to various hospice centers. She dressed accordingly, in a purple wrap dress that was splash with a bright flower pattern. It's a very '90s-style color palette, and we approve.
Anniversary Pics
To celebrate 10 years of marriage in 2021, Kate and William did a cute anniversary photo shoot together. For the breezy April day, Kate chose a pretty blue dress with sheer sleeves and a floral pattern. It was the perfect warm weather outfit, and we hope to see her repeat it again in the summer.
