The Royals' Top Tartan Fashion Moments—From Kate Middleton to Meghan Markle

Jul 27, 2023

For centuries, tartan has been an important symbol of Scotland's heritage that has been worn by members of the royal family, becoming one of the most recognizable symbols of the country around the world.

From King George IV in 1822, who popularized the modern iteration of the kilt by wearing a bright Royal Stuart tartan version during the first visit of a British monarch to Scotland in over two centuries, to Queen Elizabeth II whose own tartan kilts and skirts became her day-to-day favorites while staying in the country, the print has become an established part of royal Scottish dress.

Nearly all working royals have opted for items of clothing in tartan prints to wear while in Scotland, as a potent way of paying tribute to the nation which has shared a monarch with England since 1603.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert loved Scotland so much that they bought a large estate in the highlands and built what is known as Balmoral Castle, the royals' family home in the country.

In tribute of their residence, purchased in 1852, Albert designed his own tartan—which by ancient tradition is a piece of woven cloth with a print of colored boxes separated by contrasting lines that run against the warp and weft of the textile. The Balmoral tartan was used to decorate the royal residence and today is reserved solely for the use of the monarch and their family members.

Here, Newsweek looks at some of the royals' top tartan fashion moments.

Since joining the royal family through her marriage to Prince William in 2011, Kate has worn a number of striking tartan looks, ranging from elegant day dresses to structured winter coats.

One of the princess' most memorable tartan looks was worn on Christmas Day in 2017 during the royal family's traditional church service on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

In 2017, Kate wore a double breasted turquoise blue, red, black and white tartan coat by the Italian fashion brand Miu Miu which is headed by founding designer, Miuccia Prada.

Kate complemented the coat's faux fur collar with an alpaca fur hat and black accessories.

Kate wore a second striking tartan coat in 2021 for a visit to Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city with Prince William.

Attending a special movie screening for children at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Kate wore a blue, green and purple tartan trench coat with contrasting gold buttons.

The coat was designed by British brand Holland Cooper and the princess paired it with diamond and sapphire earrings loaned to her by Queen Elizabeth II, complementing her diamond and sapphire engagement ring that had formerly belonged to Princess Diana.

Kate's most recent tartan fashion moment came on a visit to the city of Boston in November 2022, during a visit to the U.S. with Prince William to attend the second annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.

On her arrival in the city to meet Mayor Michelle Wu, Kate wore a bold mid-length tartan dress with long sleeves in a traditional green, navy, white and red print. Burberry is a historic British brand which became widely associated with its house tartan in beige, red, white and black.

When Meghan Markle became officially engaged to Prince Harry in November 2017 she began undertaking a select number of royal visits in the buildup to her May 2018 wedding.

For her first visit to Edinburgh as a future princess, Meghan paid tribute to Scotland by wearing a tartan coat from the Burberry brand, in a bold green, navy and black color scheme.

Meghan paired her coat with an accessory which again paid tribute to Scotland, with a green crossbody handbag from the brand, Strathberry.

Though Meghan has not worn tartan as often as sister-in-law Kate, when she has, her choices have made an impact.

For a visit to New Zealand with Prince Harry in 2018, Meghan opted to wear a flattering structured trench coat in a muted tartan made up of varying tones of gray.

The duchess' coat was worn for a wreath-laying ceremony at the national war memorial in Wellington, and was made by New Zealand designer Karen Walker.

Princess Diana was a royal who took tartan as a fashion theme and ran with it. Over the course of her working life as a member of the royal family, Diana wore a number of striking looks featuring the print, including head to toe ensembles where dress, hat and accessories all matched.

One notable tartan look worn by the princess was designed by close friend Catherine Walker in 1989 and was worn to the Braemar Games in Scotland. Braemar is the closest village to the royals' Balmoral estate and the games are an important traditional community event which a number of royals attend each year.

Diana's Catherine Walker tartan look comprised of a belted shirt dress with contrasting collar, cuffs and gold buttons, which was paired with a hat made of the same tartan print with a black feather embellishment.

Like other members of the royal family, Queen Camilla has often paid tribute to Scotland by wearing tartan when undertaking engagements in the country.

In 2006, Camilla's new status as a member of the royal family was recognized when she was seen wearing a skirt suit featuring Balmoral tartan. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth was the only person who could grant permission for members of her family to wear the tartan which had been designed by Prince Albert, and Camilla's first outing in the print was made on her first wedding anniversary (April 9) in the highlands.

Camilla gave the suit a second outing at the Braemar Games in September, where she matched husband Prince Charles (now King Charles III), who wore a tartan kilt for the occasion.

Queen Elizabeth II's love for tartan kilts and skirts became synonymous with her off-duty wardrobe, often being photographed at Balmoral castle wearing them in different variations.

Touchingly, in the last official photograph of the monarch, taken aged 96 at Balmoral just two days before her death, she was seen wearing a Balmoral tartan pleated kilt as she officially appointed Liz Truss, the 15th prime minister of her reign.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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