How the Princess of Wales modelled herself on fellow commoner turned crown princess, Mary of Denmark
The Princess of Wales is hailed as a style inspiration to women around the world, but who might her own muse be? Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has long been credited as the woman Kate studied to perfect her own brand of modern regal realness.
Whenever the two have been photographed together, their resemblance is uncanny, and not just because they both have sleek, shiny brunette hair and sporty model figures.
When Kate visited Copenhagen in February 2022, they co-ordinated in smart black and white tailoring accessorised with pearl earrings. At Royal Ascot in 2016, they were photographed in easy conversation wearing remarkably similar cream floral headpieces and pretty midi-dresses. And back in November 2011, it was elegant coats for a joint Unicef engagement – though it’s worth noting that it would be several years before Kate summoned the confidence to add trousers to her wardrobe, even if Mary strode out in a chic grey checked pair that day.
“Kate is like a younger sister to Mary, who is both beautiful and elegant,” the designer Karl Lagerfeld said ahead of the 2011 wedding of Kate and William. Ten years the Princess of Wales’s senior, Australian-born Mary has been at the forefront of working out what a princess (and now queen) should look like in the 21st century.
From prim frocks to floral headbands (Kate is said to have been inspired to wear one to Prince Louis’s christening by Mary wearing one for her son Christian’s) to the effortless ability to transition from sportswear to ballgowns, the style comparisons between the two women are endless.
“Crown Princess Mary’s signature style is very classic and sophisticated. She often goes for simple lines and streamlined silhouettes,” say Sarah Williams and Heaven LeeMiller, the founders of royal fashion website UFO No More. “She manages to balance Scandinavian minimalism with Australian bohemianism very well. Her outfits always have a touch of trend or whimsy to prevent them from looking dull or boring.”
It helps that the royal family that Mary married into reigns over one of the world’s most fashionable countries. While her signature look is more glamorous and ladylike than your average Scandi-cool ensemble, she can call on labels like Ganni, Cecilie Bahnsen and By Malene Birger, as well as the jeweller Sophie Bille Brahe, to provide just fashion-forward enough pieces to keep her looking relatably of-the-moment.
Meanwhile, more traditional couturiers, like Soeren Le Schmidt – who made the striking purple outfit Mary wore for King Charles’s coronation – or Jesper Høvring, are her go-to for dazzling at more formal occasions.
Not that she limits herself to shopping Danish. Mary, who has worked with her stylist, Anja Camilla Alajdi, since her 2004 marriage (just as Kate has maintained her trusted adviser, Natasha Archer, since her earliest days as Prince William’s wife) has a wardrobe spanning H&M to Prada and Hugo Boss. She loves British fashion, too, which has led to even more “twinning” moments with Kate in labels such as Alexander McQueen and Erdem.
Both women have worn London-based Beulah numerous times, a royal favourite thanks to its elegant silhouettes and mission to help women who have suffered violence and exploitation.
“Crown Princess Mary has been a long-time customer of ours, and we admire her passion for supporting ethical and sustainable brands,” says Natasha Finch, the label’s co-founder. “We are extremely grateful for the occasions she’s worn Beulah, and it’s a privilege to dress her.”
Of all the influential modern royals who have the power to make an item sell out when they wear it, Mary is the one who is perhaps the most genuinely committed to sustainability, attracting shocked tabloid headlines when she deigns to wear something for the seventh (!) time – often, in the manner of Princess Anne, many years after its first outing (symbolising not only her recycling nous but the fact that, as a 51-year-old mother of four, she can still fit into pieces first worn almost two decades ago).
Williams and LeeMiller calculated that she has added 70 new items to her wardrobe this year, almost half that of the Princess of Wales. “Very early on, it was clear that there were expectations about what you wore and how you dressed appropriately to an event,” the Crown Princess told the Financial Times in 2022. “That was pretty daunting for me. I was a T-shirt-and-shorts girl, known to go barefoot.” She will have been able to advise Kate even more candidly in private on the treacherous transition from low-key commoner to international style icon.
Now that T-shirt-and-shorts girl is about to become Queen of Denmark, Kate will no doubt be paying particular attention to how she styles out her new role.
