Fun fact: “Is Kate Middleton a princess” is the first suggestion you get when you start to search “Is Kate Middleton” in Google. She is, for the record, which is confirmed by both her children and her husband. Her princess status was also (unofficially) confirmed tonight at the Netherlands State Banquet, where the Duchess of Cambridge showed up looking like Cinderella.
The duchess, fresh from maternity leave, wore a light-blue dress that had both a train and a rose applique, and a tiara. The dress is by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, the designer who created Middleton’s wedding dress. The tiara was a favorite of Princess Diana’s and is called the Cambridge Lover’s Knot. It was commissioned by Queen Mary and is a replica of a tiara owned by Princess Augusta of Hesse, who was then the Duchess of Cambridge. Hence the appropriate name for Kate. Her necklace — also extremely ornate — was made in 1863 for Queen Alexandra by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. She wore this Disney princess–appropriate outfit to the Netherlands State Banquet, which she attended with her husband Prince William, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Prime Minister/dancer Theresa May.
Meanwhile, her sister-in-law wore another blue dress to another state dinner halfway across the world in Fiji. Meghan’s was decidedly more modern, and complete with an honest-to-God cape. We’re here for princesses dressing in an excessively princess-y manner. If you have the access to Princess Di’s favored tiara, may as well use it!