Princess Charlotte Wore Uncle Harry’s Hand-Me-Downs For The Royal Trip To Poland

Royal tour of Poland

by Katie Rosseinsky |
Published on

If Princess Charlotte's red patent shoes, worn by the youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as she and her family touched down in Poland earlier this week, looked familiar to you, you're deserving of some very polite applause.

Royal tour of Poland
Royal tour of Poland ©Getty Images

The classic bar-strap design, which the two-year-old Princess wore with a red-and-white printed dress in a subtle nod to the Polish flag, won't be available to buy from one of Kate Middleton's favourite childrenswear labels - because the shoes originally belonged to Charlotte's Uncle, Prince Harry.

Prince Harry at Highgrove House
Prince Harry at Highgrove House ©Getty Images

Eagle-eyed royal watchers noted that Harry was first photographed wearing the red shoes in 1986, playing by the swimming pool at Highgrove House, the Gloucestershire residence where the Prince spent time as a child with his father, Prince Charles, and mother Diana, the late Princess of Wales. He also wore the same pair for an official portrait taken at Kensington Palace.

Prince Harry at Highgrove House
Prince Harry at Highgrove House ©Getty Images

This isn't the first time that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen to dress their children in hand-me-down pieces with special significance. For last year's royal tour of Canada, Charlotte was spotted in the same blue cardigan which older brother George wore to meet her for the first time at the Lindo Wing.

For the Trooping of the Colour ceremony, Prince George has often worn his father William's hand-me-downs: last year, he wore a Peter Pan-collared shirt and shorts combo that his father originally wore to Harry's christening.

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