The Gist
Kate Middleton made a poignant visit to RAF Coningsby on October 2—her first visit to the base after being named royal honorary air commodore in 2023.
For the visit, the Princess of Wales re-wore a gray Bella Freud pantsuit that she wore just last month to a day of royal engagements.
The pantsuit—and its Prince of Wales check—paid homage to her husband Prince William, while Kate’s sapphire and diamond earrings once belonged to her mother-in-law Princess Diana.
For her visit to RAF Coningsby on October 2, Kate Middleton re-wore an outfit she first donned just last month—and it pays a sweet tribute to her husband, Prince William.
Ever committed to the re-wear, the Princess of Wales wore a gray Bella Freud pantsuit that she wore on September 11 to a different royal engagement. The tailored Earl Jacket and brand’s Schoolboy Trousers are made in the Prince of Wales check, the title her husband has carried since 2022. According to WWD, the Prince of Wales check dates all the way back to the time of King Edward VIII in the early 20th century.
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Kate Middleton at RAF Coningsby on October 2, 2025
The future queen was named royal honorary air commodore of the base in 2023 in an appointment by her father-in-law, King Charles, and Thursday was her first visit to the base. Kate’s choice of outfit is even more poignant when remembering that William, too, served in the RAF, as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, and he was stationed at RAF Anglesey from 2010 to 2013—a timespan that included their engagement, wedding, and birth of their first child, Prince George.
For her visit today, Kate layered her pantsuit over a dark gray Alexander McQueen top and wore black heels by Stuart Weitzman, wearing her hair in a half-updo and sporting her RAF pin. According to The Daily Mail, she added to the sentimentality of her outfit with a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings once worn by her mother-in-law Princess Diana.
The Princess of Wales shared while on base that her youngest child, Prince Louis, wants to become a fighter pilot, but said of her kids, “I’m going to tell them it takes eight years and a lot of hard work.”
Kate even had the chance to take part in a flight simulation—something she admitted she had never done for a plane before, but had used to train helicopter pilots. The royal took to her simulated flight “with ease,” according to The Daily Mail, and afterwards Group Captain Paul O’Grady said that Kate “seems to be a natural pilot.”
“Prince William’s been here before, and so she was talking about the fact that he’d been here and she’d been delighted to get a chance to come along today,” O’Grady added. Kate was “certainly very animated about her children, who are really into aviation. So there was a lot of conversations along those lines.”
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Kate Middleton at RAF Coningsby
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Kate Middleton at RAF Coningsby on October 2, 2025
As Kate greeted well-wishers that showed up to meet her, she was handed dozens of bouquets and flowers, leading her to note that “I’m not going to be able to move into my home with all these flowers!”—likely a reference to the Wales family’s new home, Forest Lodge, which they’re expected to move into by the end of 2025.
As she left—around 90 minutes later than originally was scheduled—the Princess of Wales said sweetly, “I’m sorry, I totally outstayed my welcome.”
Read the original article on InStyle