Kate In New Hat & Familiar Frock For Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace

Kate brought back her pink Emilia Wickstead dress for this afternoon’s tea at Buckingham Palace.

More than 8000 guests were on hand to meet Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Philip & Camilla, as well as others from the Royal Household.

UK Press Association

More from the Daily Mail:

The band struck up the National Anthem as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh appeared at the top of the steps and a hush fell over the assembled crowd.

Then applause broke out as the couple, along with Charles, Camilla and Kate, made their way towards their waiting guests, who were invited after nominations by institutions, charities and businesses.

The Duchesses of Cornwall and Cambridge. 

Kate fashion followers recognize this as the dress Kate wore to the Sovereigns’ Luncheon May 18th. (More on that here.)

The ‘Alice’ dress as shown on a model.

And as worn by the Duchess today. 

Kate accessorized with a new pink hat by Jane Corbett. The talented milliner shared her excitement about Kate’s choice of chapeau on her blog:

Jane Corbett Millinery Blog

Below, details of Kate’s pearl drop earrings and the underside of her hat.

With the exception of Kate’s new hat, other accessories were familiar; the LK Bennett Natalie clutch and Sledge pumps made another appearance.

The efforts required to feed so many guests are daunting, more from Simon Perry’s People magazine story:

As for Kate, amid the sound of small brass bands and and some 400 staff members serving the invitees 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake, she told guests she was “slightly nervous” about walking into a sea of faces.

William was unable to attend, he is on duty with the RAF in Wales.

If wishing to send a clear message that all eyes should be on Her Majesty, and not looking at what she is wearing, the Duchess accomplished that today. While some have commented she should have opted for something worn much less recently, I think the Duchess was making a point. Good for her.

I teased a friend, Patricia Treble of Maclean’s Canada, her most recent story is titled “Why Doesn’t Kate Recycle Her Clothes?”

Now, before I’m inundated with angry emails, let me be very precise: I know she re-wears outfits at private functions such as weddings, and has worn older clothes at public functions. I’m talking about recycling outfits from one official engagement to another. And that she hasn’t done. I’ve checked the Court Circular, the palace record of these events, then cross-referenced engagements with outfits. No repeats.

In speaking with Patricia about her story, the writer actually predicted that we would see repeat appearances of things from Kate’s closet, she thought that would happen during Jubilee celebrations. A tip of the hat to Patricia!

The Daily Mail’s story is here, the Telegraph‘s story is here.

With apologies for the brevity today, we want to add one addition to Kate’s calendar. Our thanks to Richard Palmer of The Express for the tip, here is more from This Is Nottingham:

Prince William and Princess Catherine will join the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their trip to the city on Wednesday, June 13, Buckingham Palace announced today.

The Palace also revealed details of the Royal visit, which will see the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive at Nottingham Station, where they will meet The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Royal Party will then proceed to the Old Market Square, and undertake a short walkabout before making an appearance on the balcony of the Council House.

They are also due to visit Vernon Park, in Old Basford.