Kate Middleton’s cosy turtleneck, wide-leg trousers and long coat made navy and camel one of our favourite colour combinations

The Princess of Wales’s cosy turtleneck, wide-leg trousers and long coat showcased how beautiful navy and camel are as a colour combination for winter.

Over the years the Princess of Wales has become known for her love of wearing bold colours, from fiery scarlet to rich berry purple. However, standing out heads and shoulders above the rest as one of her most-worn shades of all time surely has to be blue. Kate has always been a big fan of wearing different shades of this colour and navy is the perfect tone for autumn/winter. It goes with everything, but it works particularly well as a contrast against paler colours.

Many of us will already have navy blue staples in our winter capsule wardrobe and Kate’s combination of an all-navy look with a camel longline coat last year shows how effective layering neutrals can be. The Princess of Wales visited the Oxford House Nursing Home in February 2023 wearing this very sophisticated look, which included a Ralph Lauren turtleneck and Roland Mouret trousers.

Recreate the Princess of Wales's look

If you love the idea of a co-ord but aren’t sure you’ll get as much wear out of a matching set, Kate’s outfit showed how you can get a similar look simply by opting for pieces in similar shades. Both her wide-leg trousers and jumper were in a gorgeous deep navy tone and though they were slightly different, they were just close enough to look like they were made to be worn together. They also both had very timeless designs, meaning they formed one cohesive outfit underneath her coat without one piece overshadowing the other.

When an outfit is kept to just one or two key colours this naturally gives it a very put-together feel and the only non-blue element in Kate’s outfit was her coat. This was an old favourite by Max & Co which comes with a belt, though the senior royal wore hers without it whilst she was at the Oxford House Nursing Home.

Although both the coat’s caramel shade and the navy blue top and trousers were neutral colours, the tonal contrast was so striking and showed how you don’t need to wear brighter shades to make a big impact. The Princess of Wales’s coat was longline and draped beautifully to a midi length, with the turtle neckline of her jumper rising just above the lapel collar.

Some of our best wool jumpers have higher necklines and they make for great layering pieces worn with tailored coats and help to keep you cosy on very cold days. The future Queen has worn her camel coat on plenty of other occasions and we have a feeling that it will remain a treasured piece in her wardrobe for many more years to come.

A tailored camel coat like Kate’s is ideal for wearing to more formal events, though you can easily dress them down too. Throw it over a pair of relaxed blue jeans and oversized knit to make it more casual for running errands and meeting friends, or add to the smart feel by wearing it with a dress - or wide-leg trousers like she did.

The Princess of Wales finished off her look with a pair of £495 Emmy London Josie pumps in navy blue and a dark blue Polene mini bag. They looked fabulous with her two-tone outfit and the shoes had block heels which were likely very comfy for this busy day in Slough. During her time at the family-run nursing home, Kate received a tour of the premises, took part in a pancake making activity to mark Shrove Tuesday and met residents, members of staff and volunteers.