The Princess Mixes New, Old, & Vintage Pieces for Prison Visit UPDATED

The Princess of Wales chose familiar styles and a few new items for a visit to HMP Styal, a prison and young offender institution for women ages 18 and older. 

The Princess was there to “highlight the importance of strong, loving, and consistent mother and baby relationships to a child’s development, even in the most challenging of environments,” per a Kensington Palace news release. The prison is located in Cheshire, roughly 3 hours north of Windsor, and it currently has approximately 400 prisoners. Embed from Getty Images

During today’s visit, the Princess visited a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) run by Action for Children at the prison. We learn more from the BBC’s story by royal correspondent Sean Coughlan. 

On her fourth official visit to a prison, the princess met women being supported by the Action for Children charity, which runs mother-and-baby units in three prisons in the north of England. The prison hopes that helping new mothers build a strong family connection with their newborns while in jail will reduce the risk of reoffending when inmates are released.

While there, she met specialist staff supporting new mothers, and visited a nursery for babies who will have to spend their first formative months inside a jail. The unit at HMP Styal provides a dedicated area for new and expectant mothers, allowing them to live separately from other inmates. There is nursing care and support for both the mothers and their babies – who may spend their first 18 months in prison.

The Princess has been Action for Children’s patron since 2016. 

The first portion of today’s visit, when the Princess met with four current prisoners who have children, was private. Here you see the Princess with one of the babies recently born at the unit.

Rebecca English of The Daily Mail reports that the Princess also met staff and two former inmates to hear about their experiences.
Embed from Getty Images
More from her Rebecca’s Daily Mail story. 

The women, Donna and Sam, spoke with confidence and conviction about what it had been like to be mothers of young babies in prison. They made clear the treatment they had received had been exceptional and made them even more determined to ensure the lives of their children would be different.

Sam, who was at HMP Styal for 14 months, told the princess about the huge range of courses they had been on and how much of a difference it had made to their parenting: ‘It was a safe space. It was run by the charity [Action for Children] and not by the prison regime. So to have that opportunity to step outside of the regime, if only for a few hours, was so important. You could just be a mum. Share ideas about how to be a better parent. I wish I could have done more.’

 Embed from Getty Images

Sam added: ‘We are both first time mums and put it this way, we didn’t start the best way. But where we are now is incredible. We got the most out of it we possibly could. We made silly decisions and ended up in this position, but you can’t turn back the clock. So we just stuck with it in here and got as much out of it as we could. There is so much we have done that I wouldn’t necessarily get access to if this hadn’t have happened. ‘

Kate said: ‘it gave you that really focused time to build that bond. ‘

Donna added; ‘We recognise there is a prison sentence that needs to happen. But the support we have received here has made all the difference to the mothers we are. It’s so hard to do it alone, so to be in a community setting within here is amazing. My dream and vision would be for this to be moved into a community setting [outside].’

And from Simon Perry’s People piece. 

Amanda Taylor, Action for Children’s Operational Director of Children’s Services, tells PEOPLE that it was an “incredible visit.” 

“We felt very privileged that the princess visited one of our mother and baby units,” she says. “We consider them our little gems that we don’t always get publicity about. It is incredibly important work that we deliver and for the princess to shine a light on that work was a fantastic opportunity for us.” Although the mothers in the unit were “nervous,” the Princess of Wales made everyone feel “incredibly comfortable,” Taylor says.

“She just naturally helped the women to feel relaxed,” she explains. “One of the women found it hard to talk and she spent some time with her at the end, talking to her one to one. She is very skilled at making people feel comfortable. These are very vulnerable women in a difficult situation.”

It looks like the Princess also enjoyed some playtime with a toddler.

Now for our look at what Kate wore today. I bet many readers immediately recognized the BLAZÉ Milano coat.

As noted in previous posts, the coat is double-breasted, with gathers at the waist, peak lapels, strong shoulders, and the brand’s signature pockets. It was first noted on Christmas Day 2021 when we had just a glimpse of it.

It was worn again in mid-January when the Princess visited Royal Marsden Hospital, where she received her chemotherapy treatments.

What the Princess wore beneath the coat today is a bit of mystery. As best I can tell, the skirt is new, a knit style in brown. The polo neck (turtleneck in the USA) top looks like it is a maroon or burgundy shade, and it could be the Kiltane Cashmere Polo Neck Jumper ($205) worn several times before by the Princess. It’s tough to tell without more photos, and it’s possible the ribbing at the neckline is different. Below, you see the top when worn to the Royal Marsden in January, paired with the BLAZÉ Milano coat.   

The skirt is a ribbed knit that appears to be a midi length from what we can see in the photos. Several of us are looking for it; I will update the post if the skirt is identified. UPDATE FEB 11 8:30 PM: With thanks to Princess of Wales Closet on X, it looks like the Princess wore Sézane’s Naelle Skirt ($125 on sale) in chocolate brown. The skirt is a blend of 53% merino wool and 47% organic cotton with an elastic waist. The skirt is offered in a variety of colors.

 This is a style the Princess has worn before in another color, seen below when she visited Nottingham in October 2023. 

We saw the return of the Princess’s bespoke suede boots by Gianvito Rossi. They are similar to the Glen style shown below ($1850), although the Princess’s style has a more sharply pointed toe than the Glen.

The Princess debuted a new pair of earrings that very much look like the Pearl Earrings in 18K Gold ($1260) from Katherine James Jewelry, with thanks to Carly at Kate Middleton Style for her speedy ID. This is a vintage style with pearl clusters set in 18K gold; each earring showcases five pearls.

Katherine James Jewellery offers a selection of modern, vintage, and antique fine jewelry located in London’s jewelry quarter. The company says, “Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. From responsibly sourced materials to embracing lab-grown diamonds as stunning, eco-conscious alternatives, we strive to reduce our environmental impact without compromising on quality or brilliance.”