In season six of The Crown, Kate Middleton (played by newcomer Meg Bellamy) doesn’t appear until the seventh episode, but even when we see her for the last time in the ninth episode, she’s still years away from marrying Prince William and becoming the Duchess of Cambridge. While it might strike some as a missed opportunity to get to revisit those early tour years of L.K. Bennett pumps and sparkly Jenny Packham gowns, The Crown costume designers (and real-life mother-daughter duo) Amy and Sidonie Roberts didn’t mind. In fact, Sidonie says she was downright thrilled over the pre-royal wardrobe.
“Kate is my age, so I was quite excited because of the ownership I could have over [those years],” Sidonie tells Glamour. “I went to school with girls that dressed like that. Plus, it’s an interesting period because we call it no man’s land in terms of costume. It’s not Princess Anne in the ’60s. It’s a very specific look.”
As Amy points out, Kate’s journey in the final episodes of The Crown (which are out now) are quite short compared to other main characters’. “We have her from a middle-class schoolgirl to a student at St. Andrew’s. It’s rather exciting then for people to see where she’s come from.”
Even though 2005 is nearly 20 years ago (I know), the styles are, according to Amy, “too recent for costume houses to really pay attention to it, but not far enough away for us to warrant making things.” As a result, the Robertses took to eBay, and one shop in Majorca of all places. “There was a charity shop,” Amy says, “and it was like the Kate Middleton, Carole Middleton shop. I just felt like it was serendipity. Like pure luck.”
Lucky for us, you don’t have to go to Majorca to find several of Kate Middleton’s early staples. (Although, hey, a field trip to the island off of Spain sure does sound nice.) Below, Amy and Sidonie reveal where you can get three of Kate’s signature pieces, and the secrets behind some of her most memorable looks.
Kate Middleton’s brown tassel boots
