The palace addressed backlash on a recent report

Kensington Palace issued a rare statement this week in response to criticism over a recent report regarding the Princess of Wales’ wardrobe.

In an article published on 1 February, the Sunday Times reported that the palace would no longer confirm details about Kate’s outfits during her public appearances, as they have routinely done in the past. The announcement seemed to indicate a change in how the royal will approach her work after taking time off to undergo chemotherapy last year.

“There is an absolute feeling that [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing,” a spokesman told the Times. “She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting. There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there but it’s about the substance.”

Getty Images
On February 11, Kate visited a mother-and-baby unit run by charity Action for Children at HMP Styal, a prison in Wilmslow

Getty Images

Shortly after the report, many questioned or even criticised the decision, with some arguing that clothing inherently holds meaning and that Kate has the rare power to wield influence based on what she chooses to wear.

The palace addressed the controversy in a statement released to People on 11 February.

“Over the last week, I have received numerous questions about a story regarding the Princess of Wales’ clothing and how Kensington Palace shares information about her outfits,” a spokesperson said. “To clarify, the comments that appeared in the article were from me, not the Princess of Wales. The comments that were reported should not be directly attributed to the Princess of Wales. To be clear, there has been no change in our approach to sharing information about Her Royal Highness’s clothing.”

The palace’s response came just a few moments before Kate’s latest outing. The princess paid a visit to a mother-and-baby unit run by charity Action for Children at HMP Styal, a prison in Wilmslow. The unit supports incarcerated mothers and expectant mothers to care for their babies. For the outing, Kate wore one of her typical winter work uniforms: a long tartan wool coat, a brown turtleneck knit dress, and suede boots.