The Duchess of Cambridge has been the talk of the town lately — or rather, she always is — but throughout 2020, she has seriously tweaked her royal appearance seemingly every few months. From surfacing for the first time after lockdown at Anmer Hall with her royal family with a noticeably tanner complexion and thicker eyebrows to the stick-straight look she sported early in the summer, and the much lighter waves she's sporting for the holiday season, Kate has been a chameleon this year.
Perhaps it's the lack of formal engagements, or the more casual vibe of 2020 that most people seem to be happy to adopt. But either way, we kind of love that the future queen consort of England has been having some fun with her appearance. The thing is, while people seem to be noticing it more now than ever, Kate Middleton has always been one to switch up her look.
Before she married Prince William in 2011, Kate experimented with all sorts of beauty and fashion trends, and while her experimentation is a bit more toned down these days, she's still always trying new things. She just makes more subtle changes now that she's a senior member of the royal family, a mother of three, and always under the scrutiny of the public. Here's a look at some of the ways she's revamped her look over the years.
Just a Bit Edgy
Once upon a time — before Kate became a duchess — her style was a lot less buttoned up. Her hair was wilder and she was fond of accessories and even clothing with a bit of edge to them, like the extra-long chandelier earrings, scrunchy knee-high boots and silver-buckled leather handbag seen here. The entire look is just a little bit rock and roll.
Content to Conform
Kate was quick to get with the royal program, though, once she married the future king. In fact, her royal appearance began taking shape while they were still engaged. She let go of her carefree, average 20-something look in favor of a much more polished style. These days, her hair is almost always perfectly in place, her makeup subtle, and accessories are almost always minimal, with the exception of the ubiquitous hats the royals wear for formal engagements.
Dressed Down in Denim
Once upon a time, Kate Middleton was quite fond of jeans, and she wore them just like the rest of us — baggy in the knees with scuffed boots. Kate really was a mostly regular young woman before making it into the royal family. In the early 2000s she dressed in a preppy, but quite average style for young women of the decade.
Duchess in Denim
These days, even Kate's denim looks incredibly polished. She still favors a similar look for more casual occasions, but there are no more baggy, saggy knees or scuffs — she still looks every bit the royal when she's dressed down in jeans as she does when she's decked out for the Trooping the Colour.
Clubbing Kate
Before we move on to Kate's more recent changes to her appearance, we absolutely have to mention that once upon a time the duchess used to hit the club scene pretty hard. The second she dropped on the public's radar, unfortunate tabloid shots of her looking like literally all of us after a night at the club were common. But things sure have changed…
Momming Kate
Kate would never be spotted looking even remotely unkempt now that she's in line to be queen consort. In fact, the most unflattering shots anyone is likely to see of her these days are when she's caught disciplining her children. While most moms can totally relate to the images of Kate keeping her kids in line, she still somehow manages to look regal as she does it.
Straightened Out
When Kate first popped up on social media after sheltering in place with Wills and the kids during the first half of 2020, she stunned fans with an unexpected look. Her signature waves were gone and replaced with sleek, straight tresses. We suppose simply straightening is one step less than straightening and then setting in waves, so it kind of makes sense that while she was busy at home with all three kids she opted for this look.
Modern Waves
Kate switched up her signature soft, vintage-style waves back in April as well when she and William did a virtual BBC interview to speak about NHS initiatives to promote mental health during stay-at-home orders. Kate's hair was styled in a slightly shorter cut with much more modern, almost beachy waves. She also seemed to have used a bit of highlighter on her face, which isn't something we've seen from her often.
All in the Eyes
Kate Middleton's penchant for dark eyeliner was once a bit of a trademark for her, but in 2020 she's lightened things up quite a bit. She hasn't been spotted with eyes double-lined in dark kohl in almost a year, and we have to say it actually makes her look younger and quite a bit more royal.
Soft & Subtle
The duchess is currently favoring a much more subtle, softer look that really opens up her face. The lack of heavy eye makeup makes her eyes look bigger and helps her to appear more awake and even more vibrant than ever before. It's a really great look for her, especially as she approaches 40. She looks mature and sophisticated, but still trendy.
From Rosy...
Pre-2020, Kate typically wore a deeper shade of pink blush, creating a bright rosy cheek or a mauve cheek, depending on the occasion — think day and night — and we're even apt to say she may have been a fan of bronzer. But as with her eye makeup, Kate's lightened things up quite a bit as of late.
To Lightened & Brightened
In fall 2020, Kate's swapped out her super-pink blusher for peachier tones and seems to have added a bit of highlighter to her beauty routine. Her new shade choices really give her a gorgeous all-over glow. We're betting these shades look quite a bit better on camera, which is obviously important now that she does so many virtual appearances.
Done With Dark
Well, at least for now anyway. More often than not, we've seen Kate with deep, dark, ultra-shiny chestnut-hued locks. And we love it, her thick, dark-brown hair is definitely a huge part of her signature style. But in summer 2020, Kate started gradually lightening her hair.
Bronze Bombshell
In summer 2020, Kate debuted a new almost bronze hair color and even sported some shaggy layers at several events. Her summer look largely centered around her ever-lightening tresses and changing hairstyles paired with flowy, midi dresses that totally gave off 1970s vibes. She seemed to be doing a lot of experimenting with her appearance during this time.
Blonder & Blonder
Then, in mid-November, the duchess appeared in a video on her and her royal husband's official Instagram account promoting the Hold Still photography project, with hair that was nearly golden blonde. Since Kate's hair is almost always much darker on the color spectrum, it was quite a noticeable change.
Before & After
So there it is. Among other things, Kate Middleton has slowly but steadily been revamping her royal appearance in 2020, and while she's always stunning, we have to say we are really feeling her new, more casual "modern royal" look — especially the changes she's made to her makeup routine which make her look younger and more approachable, but still just as put-together as any senior member of the royal family is expected to be.
