Kate Middleton Should Never Wear This Color As A Royal, But She Does It Anyway

There are strict guidelines dictating fashion for the royal family, but Catherine, Princess of Wales, has never let that stop her from being impossibly chic. Traditionally, the Windsors avoid black in most circumstances, reserving the color of mourning for funerals. But Kate has rocked the fashion-forward color anyway — and not just for evening wear.

As early as 2013, she appeared, looking radiant, in a floor-length Jenny Peckham gown for the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Gala Dinner in Aid of Action on Addiction, wearing a dress done in a dark navy color that appeared black in photographs.

But Kate has made several daytime appearances in all-black looks too. She wore an Alexander McQueen suit in a virtual appearance to announce the winner of the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. She also made a holiday appearance in a black sequin cardigan created by the London brand Self-Portrait; the festive look was perfect for The Royal Foundation's televised carol service. 

Catherine, Princess of Wales, looked anything but somber on the red carpet for "Top Gun: Maverick," when she appeared in a mostly-black, body-skimming gown by French designer Roland Mouret. The strapless dress featured a playful white collar.

When she wowed Hollywood in a black gown, she might have been breaking royal protocol, but Kate was paying stylistic tribute to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, who radically reinvented the possibilities of the royal wardrobe. It was Diana who embraced black as a chic choice, refusing to consign it to periods of mourning. She memorably wore black dresses, even while she was still a working royal. In fact, she tended to favor black dresses when attending movie premieres — like on the red carpet for "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Apollo 13" — so while Kate's choice might be technically against the rules, it does seem to be in keeping with a different kind of tradition that still honors the family that she married into.