Purple reign! Kate Middleton recycles burgundy coat-dress with on-trend pleating
Kate Middleton first wore the designer coat-dress in 2022, and now she's recycling the hat and coat pairing for the first day of VE Day celebrations
The Royal Family were out in full force this afternoon, showing a united front as they gathered in London to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. King Charles and Queen Camilla were there, joined by Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their little ones– George, Charlotte and Louis– all watching the commemorations unfold.
From a specially built platform at the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace, the royals took in the military parade, while thousands lined the streets to kick off four days of remembrance events. However, our eyes were firmly on Kate, who pulled focus with a gorgeous all-purple outfit from designer Emilia Wickstead.
She's worn the hat and coat-dress combination before, recycling another favourite look in traditional Kate fashion. Back in 2022, Kate wore the burgundy duo to welcome South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to UK. Today, she paired the same hat featuring bow detailing at the back and pleated dress-like coat to mark the first day of VE Day celebrations.
Though the coat isn't up for grabs, if you were hoping to get your hands on it, a similar pleated crêpe blazer dress from Emilia Wickstead will set you back £2,200 – certainly an investment piece. But, if you're looking for a lower-cost alternative to see you through this colder snap before the summer really kicks off (hopefully), Karen Millen's Georgette Pleated Woven Belted Midi Dress, on sale for £71.40 down from £119, offers a similar burgundy colourway and pleated detailing.
As for the Princess of Wales' statement headpiece, if you want something similar for wedding season, Amazon's Luxury Bump Padded Puffy Velvet Headband, £13.99, will give you a regal look for less.
As ever, Kate is incredibly on trend with her latest look. Pleats are already a top emerging trend for the summer months, with pieces like tennis skirts and midi pleated dresses already flying off shelves. It also shows how trends come back around fast, since it's only been three years since Kate last proved her style credentials in the designer pleated number, which was also on trend in 2022.
In other royal fashion and beauty news from the week, Kate was also recently pictured out in Scotland on official engagements wearing a brand loved by The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman. Claudia's chic country outfits have become the star of the BBC show – which is also filmed in Scotland – and she helped make Johnstons of Elgin's cashmere pieces a coveted wardrobe staple. Kate is also no stranger to the brand's luxurious cashmere pieces, having previously worn several cosy jumpers from them in the past.
During her ferry ride the Princess of Wales was seen wearing a moss green V-neck jumper, and although we can't say for sure, it looks just like Johnstons of Elgin's Classic Cashmere V Neck in the shade olive green. The cosy jumper is priced at £425 and is made from 100% two ply cashmere, with a relaxed fit and V-neckline.
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Scottish Sun
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Prince William and Princess Sophie wow crowds as they team up for rare Royal double act
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The Sun
2 hours ago
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Inside Calvin Harris' huge estate to rival Sheeranville as DJ ‘spends £15M' buying three mansions – & wants a fourth
FIRST of all there was Sheeranville – where chart king Ed bought up a load of properties around his mansion in Suffolk. Now the UK's richest DJ has been busily doing something similar, by turning a Cotswolds village into Calvin Country. 11 11 Later this summer Calvin Harris and his pregnant wife, Countryfile and Radio 1 presenter Vick Hope, will move into a stunning five-bedroom mansion in a quiet Gloucester village of just 700 residents. Superstar Calvin, 41, who is worth £250MILLION, bought the pile six years ago for £3.6million — and promptly had it demolished. The home has now been rebuilt to a design by one of the Royal Family's favourite architects. And we can reveal Calvin likes the area so much he has also snapped up TWO neighbouring houses on the same road and has his eye on buying a THIRD. Experts calculate that, including the cost of building work, he will have spent around £15million by the end of the spending spree. Not bad for a lad from Dumfries The star forked out £2.65million for an imposing house opposite his new family home — ready for the baby — and is turning it into a music studio with accommodation for musicians. Down the road he has also bought a swish six-bedroom pad with three-acre vineyard for £2.25million. But after agreeing to sell, the previous owners had to remove more than 1,000 vines which were just three years old, because teetotal Calvin did not want them. He is also understood to have let it be know he would like first refusal on a rambling nearby home with an indoor pool and huge grounds, said to be worth around £3million. Calvin Harris set to become a dad for the first time as wife Vick Hope reveals pregnancy Not bad for a lad from Dumfries in southern Scotland, who worked in a fish-processing factory and stacked shelves at his local Safeway store to earn money to buy his first DJ equipment. One of Calvin's new neighbours in the Cotswolds said: 'Just like Ed Sheeran, he seems to want to buy up the properties that surround his incredible new house. 'We have had to put up with lots of building work going on, for what seems like years — but what has annoyed locals most is that a lovely vineyard has gone.' 11 11 Calvin — real name Adam Wiles — made his fortune from 11 No1 hits and collaborating with top stars including Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Rihanna, Dizzee Rascal and Coldplay. He also earned £1million a week in Las Vegas, playing resident gigs at megaclub Hakkasan. His fortune meant he could already afford a 16,000 sq ft ten- bedroom mansion in Los Angeles in 2014, which he bought for £12million and is now worth close to £15million. He also has a 138-acre farm on party island Ibiza as well as a £7.5million five-bedroom townhouse in London's posh Primrose Hill. But in 2019, four years before his wedding to 35-year-old Vick, he joined the Cotswolds set and bought his main property there, which sits on a ten-acre plot with outdoor pool and tennis courts. No expense seems to have been spared. I am sure they will love living here as a family. Neighbour Others with homes in the Cotswolds include David and Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, artist Damien Hirst, former PM David Cameron and Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson, owner of Diddly Squat Farm. Once Calvin joined the Cotswold set he wasted little time keeping up with the Beckhams and others. He hired royal architect Ben Pentreath to draw up plans to knock down his 'ugly post-war' mansion and replace it with a three-storey, five-bedroom design built using honey-coloured Cotswold stone. Ben's drawings reveal three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms on the first floor and two more bedrooms on the second storey. Separate staff quarters, a gym, two glass houses and a garage block also feature, and Calvin has planning permission for a pond, timber-clad hideout pod and hot-yoga studio in the garden. Another local said: 'Building work there finally finished, for now, last week and we're expecting Calvin and Vick to move in at the end of the summer after his season playing at clubs in Ibiza has finished. From the road, the house looks amazing. 'No expense seems to have been spared. I am sure they will love living here as a family.' Exes of 6ft 5in Calvin include singers Taylor Swift and Rita Ora but he took up with Geordie broadcaster Vick in 2022, getting engaged just five months later. Calvin proposed to Vick at his farm on Ibiza, with a diamond ring worth £1million. The couple then married in 2023 at a small ceremony in Northumberland — and last month Vick confirmed on her radio show that she is pregnant. She is expected to give birth not long after the couple move into their Cotswolds home. 11 In 2020, Calvin sold the rights to his catalogue of dance tracks for a reported £76million and since then he has been quietly buying up home after home after home in the area. While the builders have moved out of his main Cotswolds residence, more renovation work at another of his nearby properties is in full swing. Contractors are busy turning the place into the ultimate recording studio. Calvin has always insisted he will give up DJ-ing by the age of 50 and be busy in the studio making music instead. One of the contractors working for the star told us: 'Mr Harris is about to move into the perfect house and soon he'll have the perfect 'musical office' to which he can walk to work. 'It's exciting because the idea is he will invite his friends from the music world to use what will be a state-of-the-art recording studio and they will be able to stay on site as well.' A short stroll down the road takes you to the house and vineyard Calvin bought from businessman Steve Mather and his wife Pam. Calvin had sought to keep his identity secret when snapping up the property — but in the parish magazine, the Mathers told how they had to dig up their beloved vines at Calvin's request. Steve added: 'We've already had offers for our vines from safe hands, so whatever happens the vines will live on.' Another resident revealed: 'Steve and Pam were reluctant to sell but Calvin's offers just went up and up until finally they couldn't turn it down. "A lot of people are dismayed the vineyard has gone.' Calvin has also reportedly said that he would like to buy a local six-bedroom home surrounded by high walls and acres of woodland. The property, near the heart of the village, also has an indoor pool. The village it sits in is famous for its annual opera festival, and has a primary school, shops and pub. Locals are wondering if the pub may be the next property on Calvin's wish list — and perhaps he could then spin some dance tunes for the locals. 11 11 11
