Duchess of Cambridge provides a lesson in royal blue dressing

My first piece of advice would be to team it with soft “off” colours, say a caramel or toffee-coloured knit or faded blue jeans. Avoid a crisp white shirt – that would be very uniform-like – or other primary hues, unless you are, very consciously, dressing for Ukraine, in which case yellow will really bring the message home.

Secondly, choose soft fabrics, which take the harsh edge off the colour: ultra-fine cashmere or flowy chiffon, for example. The lace in Kate’s dress has the same effect.

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The next two weeks will be demanding ones for Kate and William: their 12-day Platinum Jubilee tour – which will also take in the Bahamas and Jamaica – comes just four months after Barbados became a republic. The couple’s aim, among others, will be to prevent further Caribbean nations from severing ties with the Queen.

With that in mind, we can expect a tourdrobe rich in symbolism and homage to their hosts. Sartorial diplomacy is a delicate dance, but if there’s one thing we know about Kate, it’s that she very rarely puts a foot wrong.