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Sisters in style.
Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh may be a mentor to Kate Middleton in royal duties, but the duchess just took a style cue from the princess by wearing one of Middleton’s go-to winter outfit formulas. On Thursday, Duchess Sophie stepped out for a memorial marking the 50th anniversary of Birmingham pub bombing, which killed 21 people in 1974. Her look for the somber occasion included a Princess Kate-approved style staple: a coat dress.
Duchess Sophie Wore an Olive Green Dress Coat
For the ceremony, Sophie opted for an olive green coat dress from Claire Mischevani with a bow detail along the high neckline, pockets along the midsection, and a full skirt, styled with taupe suede boots and eggplant-colored leather gloves. To complement the regal dress’s mockneck, Sophie pulled her blonde hair into an updo that showed off her ornate gold hoop earrings. She finished off the look with a natural glam that included a rosy blush, fringed lashes, and a mauve lip.
Sophie's Dress Looked Familiar—Princess Kate Once Wore a Very Similar Style
If you thought the hunter crepe dress looked familiar, that’s because Middleton wore an Alexander McQueen dress back in 2022 with a very similar silhouette and color. During Christmas Day service at Sandringham, Middleton wore a khaki utility-style frock with a high neck, flap pockets, and a pleated skirt.
Like Sophie, Middleton paired her look with suede boots and leather gloves, though both were in a chocolate color way. She finished off the Christmas chic outfit with a matching wide-brim hat with a ribbon bow embellishment and a coordinating brown clutch.
Sophie and Kate Love a Coat Dress
This isn’t the first time the duchess has worn a coat dress, and it’s certainly not Middleton’s first rodeo, either. For Easter service in both 2023 and 2024, Sophie wore long dress coats in jewel-tone colors. In 2023, she wore a magenta number with gray suede boots and a matching hat. In 2024, she styled her long royal purple coat with matching trousers and a white beret.
Princess Kate has worn too many to name. The royal is a fan of Sarah Burton’s designs at Alexander McQueen and Said Cyrus’s work for Catherine Walker & Co. She’s also been known to rewear many of her pieces and even up-cycle old looks.
During the 2024 Cenotaph war memorial earlier this month, Middleton’s Catherine Walker dress featured structured shoulders and a velvet pussy bow detail.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Is One Stylish Royal
Like Kate, Sophie is known for her chic and polished looks. Just earlier this week, the duchess visited the Fight for Sight Laboratory at University College in a black leather belted Loewe midi dress layered over a floral blouse and brown suede boots.
Both women married into the royal family—Sophie wed King Charles’s younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1999—which has brought the two together over the years. The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English said that Sophie acted as a mentor to Kate when she first joined the family, while royal biographer Ingrid Seward told Hello! that the women have bonded over the things they have in common.
"Sophie is like the older sister Kate never had," Seward said. “They are both protective of their children. Sophie has had a young family, so she knows what it’s like trying to protect them while being in the royal world."
Seward added that they're "incredibly kind girls" and Sophie has been supportive of Middleton from the beginning. “[Sophie] has been there in the background [for Kate] as part of a private support network…[They] have a huge amount in common, having probably formed a bond very much at the beginning. Sophie was there for Kate in an unofficial capacity because she had the same experience of being a commoner marrying into the royal family," she continued. "They both had really long romances with their husbands-to-be, and Sophie lived at [Buckingham] Palace. By the time they got married, they had more knowledge than the royal brides before them about what they were getting into.”