The Princess of Wales took an unexpected departure from royal beauty protocol and showcased a letterbox red manicure, during her appearance at the Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle last weekend.
Just as it’s rare for us to see the Duchess testing out a bold red lip in place of her go-to neutral pink, Kate similarly steers clear of bright shades on her nails. In fact, as far as we can tell, she has never been photographed at a public engagement sporting anything other than a barely-there polish in the lightest shade of blush - that was until Sunday.
That said, Kate often gets more daring when it comes to her pedicure. The reason? As with many of those niggling questions about royal behaviour, it’s all a simple matter of etiquette. Just as the royals have to ensure that their outfits obey a strict set of sartorial rules, their beauty choices are similarly dictated by protocol. Certain well-placed sources have let slip that wearing fake nails or coloured nail polish is considered ‘vulgar’ for royal engagements, though it's not officially against the rules.
It is said that senior members of the royal family are encouraged to swerve in-your-face nail shades in favour of a clear wash of polish or pale neutral or pink shades. The Queen always famously favoured Essie’s pale pink Ballet Slippers polish, a colour she wore since 1989 (her hairdresser reportedly described it as ‘the only colour Her Majesty would wear’).
For her wedding day in 2011, Kate took her cues from her grandmother-in-law, opting to wear the similar shade when she tied the knot with William. Since then, she’s stuck close to the same formula: a neat manicure in a barely-there colour.
Kate Middleton's Most Notable Nail Moments - Grazia 2023
1 of 4The Wedding Manicure
Kate's wedding day manicure is perhaps the most widely written about nail look of hers to date. Many reported that she wore a mix of Essie's Nail polish in Allure and Bourjois' So Laque Nail Enamel in Rose Lounge, a product that has since been discontinued.
2 of 4Simple and Effective
Sometimes all you need is clear polish or nothing at all. The Princess of Wales proves that it's OK to let a few key accessories do all the talking, in place of your nails.
3 of 4Ballet Slippers Polish
Pretty and subtle, we think the manicure shade spotted here is Essie's pale pink Ballet Slipper polish, £7.19.
4 of 4The Red Pedi
Like we said Kate Middleton plays it less safe with her pedicure shades. It's clear she loves red.