The Duchess of Edinburgh looks better than ever at 60 – here’s how she found her style
When a young Kate Middleton walked out in front of the world’s cameras in 2010, dressed in a deep-blue wrap dress from Issa London to announce her engagement to Prince William, she quietly but firmly marked herself out as a future royal tastemaker. Ditto Meghan Markle, who gave a simple white shirt and jeans a moment in the fashion spotlight at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, before she married Prince Harry. Even Princess Beatrice has recently scored a spot on Tatler’s best-dressed list thanks to her new stylist, Olivia Buckingham (who, thankfully, has nixed her former penchant for sky-high hats).
There is one member of the family, however, who has flown largely under the fashion radar, but who is now emerging as a modern style icon – just as her royal star begins to rise. The Duchess of Edinburgh, who celebrates her 60th birthday on Monday, has undergone a subtle evolution over the last few years: she has not only taken on a more prominent role within The Firm, but adopted a more assured, contemporary dress sense to match.
This shines through in a new photograph of the Duchess, released on Saturday evening by Buckingham Palace to mark the milestone. Leaning against a bay window with a relaxed smile, she wears a black polo-neck, a white pleated midi skirt (likely an Emilia Wickstead design that she’s worn several times before) and pale pink Jimmy Choo heels featuring a pearl detail. The makeup is minimal, her hair worn loose, a pair of silver and Tahitian pearl earrings, a fine chain necklace and bracelet just glimpsed.
The photo is an understated yet elegant image designed to draw focus to the woman, not the wardrobe.
It was in 2021 that style editors really took note of Sophie’s wardrobe, when she stepped out in a black leather dress by Loewe for the 100 Women in Finance reception. She’s since worn it on three further engagements. It is undoubtedly a bold piece – but this is the royal who has worn Prada to church at Windsor, who was the first royal to sport a jumpsuit at Royal Ascot, and who has the likes of Jil Sander, Gabriela Hearst and Claire Mischevani hanging in her wardrobe. The Sophie of today is a far cry from the PR agency founder who announced her engagement to Prince Edward in 1999, wearing a grey skirt suit, shiny tights and chunky court shoes.
“As her role in the Royal family has matured, so has her sense of style,” says stylist Alex Longmore, who has previously worked with Zara Tindall. “I think she genuinely loves fashion and has recently worn more daring pieces that lie a tiny bit outside her comfort zone. She doesn’t shy away from current trends, but she has a brilliant knack of making them work for her.” Note the flowery shirt and soft suede boots she paired with that Loewe dress in November – a peerless example of the way Sophie adapts runway fashion to suit her own tastes and lifestyle. “The Duchess also seeks out independent designers to champion,” notes Longmore. “A lovely example of this is Soler London, a small atelier which has a range of beautiful, printed dresses.” Last year, she was also spotted in a slick, houndstooth suit from Vince (which she wore to open a winery in Kent) and a long, printed skirt from Spanish label Matelier for the Together at Christmas carol concert, which perfectly chimed with the nouveau boho trend.
There’s one question on everyone’s lips: who is behind the Duchess’ makeover? She is rumoured to have worked with stylists including Georgie Pincus and Pandora Delevingne in the past, but these days, Longmore thinks she’s largely in control of her own look. “I think that she has, possibly, worked with a stylist along the way and I’m sure she has help from a PA as she is extremely busy, but I think most of her style is her own doing.”
After all, Sophie – for all her earlier forays into unfortunate Nineties trends – has quietly been forging her reputation as an under-the-radar style icon for years now. She was one of the first to patron British brand, Suzannah London (which also counts the Princess of Wales as an early adopter). Usually, she opts for classic shapes – think A-line dresses, clean lines and neat, belted jackets – and has worn the label on countless occasions, Prince Philip’s funeral and King Charles’ coronation among them.
“Women who come to me are looking for something appropriate, modern and special,” says the brand’s founder, Suzannah Crabb, who recently worked with the Duchess on a bespoke version of her “Debutante” gown for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, honouring the Emir of Qatar and his wife. “I worked with my atelier to exaggerate the proportions a little,” says Crabb. “A cleaner aesthetic for the neckline was an important element: it needed to work with the sash and, as the event was a sit-down banquet, the detail needed to be mainly at the neck.” Of course, the dress also served to show off the Duchess’ aquamarine tiara – one of her favourites, which she is believed to have helped design.
Crabb describes working with Sophie as “an effortless and enjoyable collaborative process”. Hardly surprising, then, that the Duchess often relies on her designs for one of the Royal family’s biggest fashion moments of the year: Royal Ascot. In 2024, Sophie chose two outfits for the races, including the white “Keres” dress, which she wore on the same day as her silver wedding anniversary. “I’m a romantic,” says Crabb of that touching symbolism. Such a fan is Sophie of her designs, that she has even influenced her daughter: Lady Louise Windsor wore the brand’s iris-printed “Kumiko” dress to the Coronation and again to Trooping the Colour. “This happens so often with my brand, it feels incredible,” says Crabb. “I love seeing mothers and daughters shopping together, too. Sometimes, a client calls in to request a replicate piece, as their daughter has nabbed theirs!” Sophie, you have been warned.
As with fashion, the Duchess knows what suits her when it comes to beauty, favouring the safe territory of bouncy blow-dries and subtle make-up, which is all about “looking both polished but not too forced at the same time,” says Sonia Haria, The Telegraph’s beauty director. “She has a good formula that she sticks to. She never looks overly made-up and accentuates her eyes – which I think are her best feature – while sticking to a palette of corals, pinks and nudes on her cheeks and lips.” However, Sophie’s newfound confidence shines through: she’s been known to plump for a side ponytail and is not opposed to a hair accessory, such as the Hermès scarf she once wore looped into her updo. “It’s brilliant that she’s so open to taking risks,” says Haria.
Other elements with which Sophie likes to play around include her accessories. “Her fabulous hats, normally by Jane Taylor London, are often verging on flamboyance,” says Longmore (the dramatically oversized, black satin boater she wore on Remembrance Sunday last year is a case in point). Her handbags, meanwhile, often hail from the Edinburgh-based accessories brand, Strathberry, which was first worn by the Duchess of Sussex but is now a cornerstone in the wardrobes of the Princess of Wales, Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall. Sophie has the angular “Box Crescent” bag and the neat “East/West Mini” cross-body in her arsenal, which she has worn everywhere from Garter Day at St George’s Chapel to church at Sandringham on Christmas Day. “Sophie has a refined style which I love – it’s beautifully timeless and polished,” says the label’s co-founder, Leeanne Hundleby. “I’ve loved seeing her look evolve over the years to become more contemporary, with bold textures, prints and accessories bringing a modern edge.”
Sophie may use her birthday as an opportunity to reflect on a year of outstanding royal service, during which she has proved herself as the fifth hardest-working member of the family (after Princess Anne, the King, the Duke of Gloucester and her own husband). She would do well, however, to also pat herself on the back for a series of impeccable looks. “I look forward to seeing what she’s going to wear in this new decade,” says Longmore. “She is definitely helping women realise that 60 doesn’t mean you have to close the curtain on style.”
