Aside from the current viral fashion faux pas involving the green Solace London dress she wore to the Earthshot Prize Awards in November 2022—where she still looked amazing—Kate Middleton is usually very well-dressed. However, a recurring incident from 2016 is making headlines because it recalls a near-embarrassing wardrobe malfunction during her visit with the Prince of Wales to the India Gate war memorial in New Delhi. The internet is once again abuzz with photos and videos from that memorable day.
Kate Middleton Almost Had a ‘Marilyn Moment’ in New Delhi
If you think back to 2016, you may remember that the Duchess of Cambridge wore a stunning white midi dress by Emilia Wickstead when she and her husband paid tribute to the 70,000 Indian soldiers who died fighting for the British Army in World War I. She looked stunning in the dress, paired with elegant nude heels.
The mother-of-three was clearly unprepared for the strong winds, however, as she nearly had her own “Marilyn moment” – a reference to the late Marilyn Monroe’s white William Travilla dress being blown up by a subway grate in the film The Seven Year Itch. The Princess of Wales struggled with the hem of her dress as she bent down to lay a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial – but she handled it with such grace and dignity (are we surprised?) and managed to keep her dress from blowing too much up in the wind, thus successfully preserving her modesty. What a pro!
How Kate Middleton avoids outfit mistakes?
Like many other female members of the royal family, the Princess of Wales has a number of tricks to ensure she doesn’t suffer embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions. Some of these include wearing overalls under her outfits to create static electricity in strong winds to prevent skirts and dresses from flying up, and sewing weights into her dresses – the late Queen Elizabeth II reportedly had her personal couturier Stewart Parvin sew lead curtain weights into her dresses – again, to prevent hemlines from riding up. The Princess of Wales has also had some of her pieces specially altered and adjusted, including making them less revealing than they were originally designed to be.
Other tips are simply to make her life a little easier, like wearing shoes a size larger to avoid blisters and wearing tights with rubber soles so her feet don’t slip in her shoes – after all, tights are a must because going barefoot is really against royal protocol!