Kate Middleton Recycles Her Fashions for Jubilee Tea Party as Prince William Is Knighted...Again!

Duchess dons the same pink dress for consecutive royal public engagements as Wills is named to the Order of the Thistle

By Gina Serpe May 29, 2012 8:13 PMTags
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate MiddletonCARL COURT/AFP/GettyImages

Clearly, if there's one thing HRH Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, RAF Flight Lieutenant, Earl of Strathearn and Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter is lacking, its lofty and pinky-raising titles. Ahem.

Well, spare a tear (and maybe some ink) today for the royal stationer, because Queen Elizabeth II just gifted her eldest grandson with another sobriquet for the record books.

Round tables at the ready, everyone…

Buckingham Palace has announced that Prince William is now a Royal Knight of the Order of the Thistle, an honor bestowed upon him by his grandmother, who, unlike is the case for other such titles of peerage which require consultation with the government, is the sole decider for the appointments.

A rep for the royal said William was "very honored."

"It's his 30th birthday this year and also the Diamond Jubilee and the Queen felt it was an appropriate time to bestow the honor."

The Order of the Thistle, incidentally, is Scotland's order of chivalry, and is second in precedence and seniority only to England's Order of the Garter, of which William is already a knight.

And for those keeping track at home, Prince Harry is so far a member of neither, though time may very well change that: typically, only the most senior members of the royal family are made knights and ladies.

William's new status will be formalized with a ceremony taking place in July, during the queen's official weeklong summer residence at Edinburgh's Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Meanwhile, as William prepares to raise a sword (or whatever it is knights do these days), Kate Middleton spent the day flying the flag for the royal family at Buckingham Palace, where she seemed—as always—to be the star attraction at a garden tea party held on the grounds in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images

The event, which included 8,000 of the family's closest friends, brought out not only Kate and Queen Elizabeth, but Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, as well as Kate's wedding dress designer, Sarah Burton. William, currently on search and rescue duty in Wales, was unable to make it.

And perhaps it was the outdoor setting that put Kate in a recycling state of mind, as the style icon once again wore the pink pleated Emilia Wickstead coat dress she wore less than two weeks ago at the sovereigns luncheon held at Windsor Castle.

Hey, if the dress fits, wear it. And then wear it again.