London - Plenty of women would jump at the chance to raid the Duchess of Cambridge’s wardrobe.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that her own mother has taken advantage of the opportunity.
The Duchess delivered her first public speech in a dress that looked remarkably familiar – because Carole Middleton once borrowed it for Royal Ascot.
Royal sources confirmed that the £139 (about R1 600) electric blue Trina dress, from Reiss, belongs to the Duchess.
Her 57-year-old mother wore it to the races in 2010, but anyone outside of the Middleton family who likes the look of it will be disappointed, as it’s a design from the store’s autumn-winter 2008 collection and is no longer on the rails.
Given that any item the 30-year-old Duchess wears usually sells out immediately, the British High Street chain may also regret the fact it’s not still on sale.
The Mail revealed last year that Kate frequently borrows her mother’s clothes, with the two women sharing a sense of style as well as a slender physique. Kate went to a wedding in September in a £650 raspberry lace dress by Collette Dinnigan which her mother had stepped out in two years earlier.
And when Mrs Middleton wore the blue Reiss dress to Royal Ascot, she teamed it with a jaunty Jane Corbett fascinator that Kate has also been photographed in.
But if all eyes were on Kate’s outfit as she arrived at The Treehouse, a children’s hospice in Ipswich, Suffolk, then it was swiftly on to business.
The Duchess is Royal Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, and wore one of their fundraising bracelets alongside her priceless sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
In her first public speech, she showed just a hint of nerves as she expressed her feelings of pride at being asked to become involved in the cause and paid tribute to the ‘fun, family’ atmosphere that The Treehouse provides.
Her cut-glass tone was eminently royal, although friends who grew up with her told the Mail that her accent has changed since her school days. “She spoke with just a very normal, middle England accent when I knew her,” said one. “Now she sounds as if she has a mouthful of plums.”
Royal sources say the Duchess has no plans to carry out more solo engagements in the immediate future as she wants to spend time with her husband when he returns from the Falkland Islands towards the end of the week. - Daily Mail