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PRETTY IN PEARLS

Why Kate Middleton Got Away With the Ultimate Wedding Faux Pas

The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the wedding of William’s first cousin.

Cailey PetschHealth and Beauty Intern

PublishedJun 8, 2026, 3:36 PM EDT

UpdatedJun 8, 2026, 3:44 PM EDT

Updated Jun 8, 2026, 3:44 PM EDTPublished Jun 8, 2026, 3:36 PM EDT

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At most weddings in the United Kingdom and the United States, wearing anything close to white is considered a faux pas unless explicitly requested by the couple getting married. Yet Catherine, Princess of Wales, wore an elegant cream-colored look to a wedding on Saturday with little fanfare.

​On June 6, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the wedding of Prince William’s first cousin.

Peter Phillips, 48, is Queen Elizabeth II’s oldest grandson and the son of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips. On June 6, he married Harriet Sperling, 45, in a private ceremony at All Saints Church in Kemble, England, according to the BBC.

For the event, Kate wore a vanilla-colored tweed dress with a matching hat and clutch. On her wrist was a subtle tribute to her beloved late mother-in-law: a bracelet from Princess Diana’s royal jewelry collection.

Princess Kate, 44, accompanied her husband, Prince William, 43, to the first royal wedding of the summer season, wearing a summery outfit and the heirloom pearl bracelet.

William wore a three-piece suit with a white undershirt, a baby-blue tie and vest, gray trousers, and a black tailcoat.

Kate picked a boucle-knit, cream-colored Roland Mouret maxi dress featuring a nipped-in belted waist and a delicately fringed collar. She accessorized the look with beige Gianvito Rossi leather pumps.

Her straw Jane Taylor boater hat with a sculptural brown bow and matching Forever New, Lily woven clutch added a light summery flair, while her three-strand pearl bracelet with a diamond-studded clasp was a classical, timeless touch.

While a wedding guest wearing such a pale shade might be taboo under normal circumstances, the choice wasn’t a fashion blunder in this instance.

The nuptials are actually Phillips’ second, having previously been married to Canadian-born management consultant Autumn Kelly—with whom he shares two children—from 2008 to 2021. This element lessens the formality of the occasion.

The late Queen Elizabeth II wore white to her son’s second wedding in 2005, when he married Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Camilla.

Camilla, in fact, wore a nearly identical pale cream shade to Kate’s for the June 6 wedding.

Of course, as most know, it is near-impossible to truly steal the spotlight from the bride, no matter how famous the guest list. This is particularly true when the bride wears the type of dramatic gown Sperling picked for the wedding day.

Sperling trusted designer Emilia Wickstead to create the jaw-dropping dress, which featured ivory lace, crepe, and a three-foot train.

The unexpected color choice isn’t the only notable detail in the Princess’s ensemble.

Kate’s bracelet is a direct callback to the late Princess Diana, who wore the legacy pearls to a 1989 concert and reception at the then-newly built cultural center in Hong Kong, according to The Court Jeweller.

The bracelet was paired with a pearl-studded ivory-colored dress, referred to as Diana’s “Elvis Dress.”

Legacy Looks

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The silk gown and matching jacket—both Catherine Walker designs—earned the unique nickname for their high collar, which replicated the King of Rock’s glamorous outfits.

Princess Kate has worn Diana’s pearly piece on other occasions, pairing it with the clutch just a month earlier at the King’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 8.

​The event was particularly monumental for Middleton, as it was the first garden party she hosted in 2026. She attended just one such fête in 2025 and did not attend any in 2024 following her cancer diagnosis.

The Princess and the Pearl

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The Princess of Wales also wore Diana’s drop earrings for the May 8 gathering.

In the past, Middleton fashioned Diana’s pearl bracelet for a 2017 visit to Berlin, where the Duchess of Cambridge wore the piece for a reception at the Claerchens Ballhaus dance hall.

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Cailey PetschHealth and Beauty Intern

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