Nothing says British summertime quite like a day at Wimbledon—or the Duchess of Cambridge in a polka dot dress. Kate Middleton made her first appearance at the 2022 tournament on Tuesday, July 5, wearing one of her favorite Alessandra Rich tea dresses in her signature print. 

The famously sporty royal, who is a patron of the All England Tennis Club as well as a keen player herself, arrived as Britain’s breakout star Cameron Norrie was set to face Belgium’s David Goffin in the men’s quarter-final. Britain’s hopes now rest on Norrie’s shoulders, after Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray were both knocked out in the second round. 

Neil Mockford

Kate Middleton styled her cornflower-blue belted dress—which the increasingly conscious dresser previously wore to make a surprise appearance at a street party over the Platinum Jubilee weekend—with pearl earrings, classic tortoiseshell sunglasses and a neat white handbag. The addition of slingback stiletto heels was an unexpected choice from the avowed fan of a simple suede pump. 

The Duchess, who was joined by Prince William at SW19, has added several of Rich’s feminine, ’40s-inspired midi-dresses to her wardrobe in recent years, and wore one to pose for her father-in-law Prince Charles’s 70th birthday portraits. She’s also famously fond of cheerful polka dots: earlier this summer Kate evoked the style of the late Princess Diana in a spotty dress—again by Alessandra Rich—at Royal Ascot. 

This article first appeared on British Vogue.


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