Kate Middleton Got a Rich Hair Color Update for Winter

Bye-bye, highlights.
Kate Middleton walking and smiling in a green blazer
Getty Images

As is tradition with the royal family, Kate Middleton's beauty choices are… well… traditional. The Princess of Wales has always gone a timeless route with her makeup, nails, and hair; though if she's going to have a little fun with any of those, it's the latter. While you'll probably never see Middleton with platinum blonde or fiery red hair, she definitely partakes in a little hair dye every now and then — though her hair color timing is quite traditional, too. For example, just like so many of us go a bit darker for fall or winter, the princess did exactly that as we entered the last month of the year.

Middleton has been wearing her gorgeous, long layers with all-over honey highlights that lightened her overall tone without crossing over into blonde or even bronde territory, so it was decidedly still brunette. But we didn't realize quite how light it was until she darkened it into a super-rich darker brown tone.

The princess debuted the deeper hue at London's Royal Albert Hall on November 30, where it was styled into a super-glossy, smooth style that gleamed like the collar of her blue Safiyaa gown. But it wasn't until today that we got a good glimpse of the color in natural sunlight. And we can confirm: Middleton is definitely done with golden highlights — at least for now.

Getty Images

On Tuesday, December 5, Middleton once again wore royal blue (how apt), this time to attend the opening of a surgery unit at Evelina London Children's Hospital. Her blowout was full of oomph, and her curtain bangs were flawlessly parted just a bit off-center, proving her signature style looks fabulous in any shade of brunette.

October 2023

Getty Images

December 2023

Getty Images

We suspect this may be Middleton's color until spring, at which point we wouldn't be surprised to see her welcome back caramel tones. But we honestly can't decide which color we like more — a royal conundrum we'd be happy to struggle with ourselves.


More on hair color:


Now watch Charli D'Amelio react to TikTok beauty trends:

Follow Allure on Instagram and TikTok, or subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on all things beauty.