At this point, it's a fact that the royals are style icons — and they have been for as long as the British monarchy has existed. Today, so many of us take inspiration for the trends that Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are wearing and even setting themselves, and that includes the times they've been pregnant. Even the royals' maternity style has always been on point.
From the frequent polka-dot patterns that the Princess of Wales has worn through her three pregnancies to the more neutral, classic style that the Duchess of Sussex wore during her more public pregnancy with her oldest child, Archie, some of the royals' best style moments have happened while they were showing off their baby bumps.
We can even go as far back as Princess Diana's trend-setting maternity looks — they were all totally '80s and totally perfect.
Ready to walk down royal pregnancy memory lane? Here are the family's best maternity style moments.
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Queen Elizabeth's Very Royal Bump
Let's take it all the way back to the early 1960s, when royal maternity style wasn't quite as prolific as it is now. Still, the late Queen Elizabeth was sure to look her best when she was out and about, and here, she was just one month away from welcoming Prince Andrew. That coat and hat look adorable on her, and yes, that is the future King Charles walking with her (and her pup).
Princess Anne's Laid-Back Look
Queen Elizabeth's four children would eventually go on to have babies of their own, but as her only daughter, Princess Anne was also the one to carry a baby herself. Anne took a much more casual approach to her maternity style — here she is, looking cool in a sweater and pants with a bandana wrapped around her head. This picture was taken in 1977 when she was expecting her first child, Peter.
Expecting Eugenie
Here, we have Sarah Ferguson in 1990, when she was pregnant with her second and youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie. That purple color is so striking with her red hair, and we're loving the pleats on the bottom of her coatdress, which she paired with gold jewelry.
As a Mom Herself
That baby in Sarah's belly eventually grew up to become a mom herself — and now, Eugenie is expecting her second child with husband Jack Brooksbank. Here she is, photographed out and about in an adorable floral dress that shows off her bump perfectly.
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Dots at Wimbledon
Eugenie isn't the only one of Fergie's kids to have kids of her own. Princess Beatrice is a mom, too, and her daughter, Sienna, was born in 2021. While she was expecting, Bea was basically a fashion plate. This polka-dot dress she wore to Wimbledon is too cute.
A Bit Fuzzy
Princess Diana was just a couple of months away from giving birth to her first child, Prince William, when this photo was taken. Always one to take a fashion risk, Diana paired this fuzzy red coat with a blue maternity dress and a matching hat.
Bumpin' Along
What did we tell you — polka dots are popular with the expectant moms of the royal family, and Diana was no exception. In this photo (which was also taken during her pregnancy with William), Diana looks stylish and like she's keeping cool at a polo match. Being pregnant in the summer is no joke!
Hot Pink Bump
Here's a glimpse at Diana's maternity style when she was pregnant with Prince Harry. This hot pink color is so fun, and not only were bow accents like this so popular in the '80s, but they also seemed to be big in Diana's own wardrobe, too.
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More Dots, of Course
Here's another pregnant royal in polka dots, and this actually ended up being one of Kate's most famous maternity looks. Taken during a visit to Warner Bros. Studios in London when she was pregnant with Prince George, Kate got to grab a wand and make some magic on the set of Harry Potter.
Dressed for the Occasion
This photo was also taken during Kate's first pregnancy, and she was all dressed up for a special occasion: a service at Westminster Abbey in honor of the Queen's 60th anniversary on the throne. A decade later, Kate and all three of her children would be honoring the matriarch for her 70-year milestone, but at that point, we're willing to bet Kate had no idea what the future would bring.
Blushing Mama
Kate's maternity style didn't change much between her first and second pregnancies. While she was expecting Princess Charlotte a few years later in 2015, Kate still wore her beloved coatdresses. Pink has always been her color, and we're loving these buttons on her coat.
Lace Blue Look
During Kate's third pregnancy with Prince Louis, her style had grown up a bit as she came even more into her own as a senior royal. Here, she's wearing a pretty blue dress that matches her sapphire engagement ring — something Kate is known to do quite frequently.
A Bold Pattern
Patterned clothing can be hit or miss while pregnant, depending on what kind it is, but we'd have to admit that Kate's bright red houndstooth coat is really doing it for us (especially paired with that Chanel bag). Her hair was so cute when she cut it short while pregnant with Louis.
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Purple & Red
This turned out to be one of Meghan's most memorable maternity looks when she was pregnant with Archie, and it's easy to see why. Since purple and red contrast so well, it's no wonder that this coat and dress make the perfect pair, accentuating her bump so well in the process.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
Classy Neutrals
Despite that last super colorful outfit, we can't pretend like Meghan didn't also manage to continue to pull off neutrals flawlessly while pregnant. Meghan hit it out of the park yet again with this monochrome beige look — nobody does it like her!
Bumpin' Night Out
Meghan certainly dressed to impress when she accompanied Prince Harry to a performance at London's Natural History Museum in February 2019. Dressed all in white, Meghan pulled her hair back into a low bun with tons of volume. This look is so chic!
A Private Pregnancy
Meghan's pregnancy with daughter Lilibet was much different than her pregnancy with Archie, so it's no surprise that her maternity style was different then, too. From the little we saw of this time in her and Harry's lives, she kept it far more casual, which definitely seemed to work for her.
