There has been no official word from William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, regarding the arrest of William’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
But on Sunday, three days after Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was taken away from his home by the police, the Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards in an attempt to project a picture of royal unity. Their appearance quietly underscored their own value system and what they represent, at a time when the monarchy and its dirty laundry is under the microscope.
That’s not a coincidence. It’s a statement of a different kind.
And one that was sure to be noticed because it was the first time the couple had attended the BAFTAs together since Catherine’s cancer diagnosis in 2024. It was also the rare time that William did not wear a classic tuxedo to the event since he became its president in 2010.
This time around he wore a burgundy velvet dinner jacket that perfectly matched the burgundy velvet belt Catherine wore around her blush pink and rose Gucci gown — a gown she wore in 2019 to a gala at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
When Catherine returned to public duties after her cancer treatment, her office made a point of saying the family would only occasionally release details about her clothes, hoping to focus more on her work than what she wears to do that work. There’s little question that in this case the couple’s choice of wardrobe was calculated to make a point.
Their entrance at the BAFTAs took place on a red carpet, where fashion speaks louder than any words, and where photos are taken that go around the world in minutes. What they wore was a strategic choice, reflecting an approach to public image-making that Catherine has honed since she became a member of the royal family. It merges the color-coordinated approach of Queen Elizabeth II with the tools of celebrity culture.
Catherine has been adept at wearing British designers, as well as mixing high fashion brands with high street names. She increasingly rewears her clothes in a nod to the sustainability agenda her father-in-law and husband support. (William founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020 to support efforts to combat climate change.)
She has also been a proponent of Pantone diplomacy, or the art of coordinated family dressing, going back years — indeed, going back to at least 2017, when she and William embarked on their second European tour with their children. Throughout the trip, the family dressed in matching shades for almost all of their photo ops — in lilac and navy or complementary blues.
And so it went, for almost all moments of elaborate public pageantry: at various Christmas church services, at King Charles III’s coronation, at the trooping of the color for the king’s birthday, in their family Christmas cards, which they post on Instagram to their 17.2 million followers.
The boys and their father often wear matching ties. Charlotte and her mother pick up the same cues in their coats or dresses. Sometimes they all wear matching jeans or crew necks. Or, in the case of the BAFTAs, matching velvet.
The end result is a deliberate visual story of harmony. One that paints a picture of a family on the same page — a counterpoint to a royal narrative that includes fractured fairy tales rather than happy endings.
Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.
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