So, Kate Middleton has gone blonde. Honestly, when the first photos popped up from that family outing in Scotland back in late August, I think a lot of us were squinting at our screens. Was it the light? A trick of the camera? She was wearing a hat, so it was hard to tell. But then, just a few days ago, she showed up at the Natural History Museum in London, and there was no denying it. The Princess of Wales, known for her rich, chestnut brown hair, is now a buttery blonde.
And the public reaction? Well, let’s just say it’s been mixed. Actually, that might be too generous. It seems a lot of people really, really prefer her as a brunette. Scrolling through social media, you find comments like, “The blonde makes her look older,” and “Why change to this dulling color?” It’s a stark reminder that even the most seemingly put-together among us can have a beauty misstep. It happens to the best of us. Perhaps the color is too ashy for her skin tone, or maybe it’s just such a dramatic shift from the look we’ve all come to know and love that it’s simply jarring. It feels a bit… un-Kate.
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More Than Just Hair: The Weight of a Signature Look
We have to remember that Kate’s hair isn’t just hair. It’s a part of her public identity. For over a decade, she’s been famous for that voluminous, perfectly polished brunette blowout. It’s become a symbol of her classic, refined, and incredibly consistent style. A royal commentator put it perfectly recently, noting that a big part of the royal image is about control and stability. That sleek, predictable hairstyle projects exactly that. It’s dependable. So, changing something so fundamental feels like a big swing.
This shift also hits a little differently given everything she’s been through this past year. Her brave cancer announcement in March had many people worrying not just for her health, but also about the potential side effects of treatment, including hair loss. Her hair is so iconic that the thought of her losing it felt especially cruel. Thankfully, we learned earlier this year that she hadn’t needed to undergo that particular therapy. There was a collective sigh of relief; her beautiful hair was safe.
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Which is perhaps why this new blonde shade is so surprising. After a period where we were all so protective of her and her well-being, seeing such a drastic change feels almost incongruous. It’s not the strong, familiar image we were so relieved to see preserved. Maybe that’s part of the reason for the strong reaction—it feels like an unnecessary risk after so much very real vulnerability. It’s a choice, for sure. And while everyone deserves the freedom to experiment, in the world of royalty, even a haircut is never just a haircut.
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