The Duchess of Cambridge rules of dressing at 40

“It’s about being respectful of the occasion and not outshining it,” Cronan says.

Mix high and low

Stylist Chloe Buttenshaw, who worked on covers with Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Hawkins at Marie Claire, points to Kate’s mix of high end and high street labels as easy to emulate for those without access to a family vault stacked with tiaras.

“A Zara dress paired with an Alexander McQueen coat or the Zimmermann dress she wore on her Australian tour in 2014, which sold out quickly. Everyone has a chance to dress like Kate,” Buttenshaw says.

Turn to tailoring

While everyone may have the opportunity to dress like Kate, stylist Mikey Ayoubi who has worked with singer Jessica Mauboy and actor Bojana Novakovic (from the Binge series Love Me) is more selective about which looks to emulate.

“When she does her day dresses it’s either hit or miss,” Ayoubi says. “She can look chic in ’70s inspired Diane von Furstenberg or old and conservative in those awful long, floaty floral numbers. Sometimes it’s like she turned 40, 10 years ago.”

Instead, Ayoubi pinpoints Kate’s strong blazer game, a sartorial choice her mother-in-law Princess Diana scored style points with.

“Whether it’s open or closed, I think this blend of the feminine and tailoring, rather than just pretty dresses, is more relevant to the modern woman,” Ayoubi says.

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“The royal blue Zara blazer she wore in Scotland with a pleated skirt is an absolute favourite, and it’s very Princess Diana.”

Simple with a smoky eye

When it comes to beauty looks, Kate has flirted with a fringe, side part and the occasional up-do, but she generally sticks to a signature style where flawless skin and long hair takes centre stage.

“Kate’s hair and make-up reflect perfectly her natural style which I would call effortless classic,” says hair and make-up artist Chris Coonrod, who has worked with Elle Macpherson, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. “She really just relies on her natural beauty and she obviously has great hair which she usually keeps loose and simple apart from public appearances when she often adds a smoky eye or simple up-do.”

Strong lipstick colours are also avoided. Too trendy and too great a risk of getting lipstick on the teeth.

“It’s all designed to be very approachable and relatable.”

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