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8 Times Kate Middleton Took Fashion Cues From Princess Diana

These similar outfits from two royal style stars show how timeless real elegance is.

A year-long celebration to honour the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is well underway. To mark the 20th anniversary, there will be a range of events throughout 2017 paying tribute to one of the Royal Family’s most loved figures. She was known as the  “People’s Princess” for her compassion, warmth and services to many charities.

 She was also unequivocally seen as a style star, something a commemorative exhibition at Kensington Palace displaying 25 of her most iconic outfits confirms. The exhibition, which is ongoing throughout the year, tells her dashing fashion story while dancing with the stars or meeting other dignitaries. Luckily for everyone who loves fashion, Kate Middleton has also managed to get the world eagerly watching her own superb fashion choices. Click through to see eight similar moments of glamour, savoir-faire and grace from the two English roses.

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For a charity gala at The London Palladium in 1990, Princess Diana looked stunning in a navy double-breasted jacket and short sequin skirt.

During her last public engagement before her marriage to Prince William in 2011, Kate Middleton showed how timelessly chic a navy suit is in this Catherine Wakeley design.

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On a visit to the Associated Newspaper Offices in London’s Kensington in 1996, Princess Diana donned an apple green suit with black shoes and matching handbag.

The Duchess of Cambridge chose the same green hue while attending a reception in Los Angeles with Prince William in 2011. She chose to accessorise the crop sleeved knee length dress with nude shoes and multi-coloured clutch.

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During a royal tour of Australia in 1988, Diana, Princess of Wales fittingly opted to wear a white outfit with nautical-striped hat and scarf while visiting sailors in Sydney Harbour.

In 2011, Kate Middleton wore a nautical-inspired cable-knit dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen during a royal tour of Canada.

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A banquet in London’s Claridge’s Hotel in 1989 saw Diana, Princess of Wales looking extremely regal in a satin lilac ballgown with a floral print, along with a dazzling tiara and matching clutch.

Then in 2011, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge went for the same colour palette during the BAFTA “Brits To Watch” event in Los Angeles. Her pleated lavender floor-length dress with sparkling belt was an Alexander McQueen creation.

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While attending the Braemar Games in Scotland in 1981, Princess Diana chose a chic black beret to top off her high-necked plaid outfit.

Kate Middleton channelled the beret look, wearing a Philip Treacy number, at The Cheltenham Festival horse racing meeting in 2007.

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Princess Diana was dressed in this sparkly baby blue halterneck dress by Catherine Walker with matching shoes and metallic clutch when she went to a Serpentine Gallery fundraising gala in Hyde Park, London in 1995. 

While she was still Prince William’s girlfriend back in 2006, Kate Middleton chose the same halterneck style dress in red wIth white polka dots. She was watching the Chakravarty Polo Match in Richmond’s Ham Polo Club at the time.

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In 1996, Diana, Princess of Wales, was seen out and about while attending the Charity Appeal for London Lighthouse event. She wore a vivid red suit and teamed it with a black Dior bag.

On a 2011 visit to the University of St. Andrews, where the couple actually met, Kate Middleton chose a similar bright red outfit with black buttons. She styled the Luisa Spagnoli suit with black knee high boots, gloves and clutch. 

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During a visit to the Centre for the Deaf in Northhampton, England in 1986, Princess Diana wore a dressy red coat with a stylish flat top black hat.

 Come 2006, the Duchess of Cambridge chose the same coloured coat and hat combination. Philip Treacy designed the flattering hat she wore to watch the Sovereigns Parade at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England.

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