Kate Middleton Wears Surprising Hair Accessory for Appearance at Windsor Castle With the Trumps

The royal family’s soft power was on full display for the U.S. state visit today—as was another hair change from Kate Middleton, though not as dramatic as the hair color changes she’s been debuting over the past few weeks.

On September 17, the Princess of Wales and her husband, Prince William, were poignantly the first to greet President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as they stepped off of Marine One on the Windsor Estate, proof of the couple’s increasing diplomatic role in the royal family. The future queen wore an autumnal-coded maroon Emilia Wickstead coatdress, paired with a hat by Jane Taylor, dark brown Gianvito Rossi pumps, a Chanel bag, and a meaningful brooch that was once worn frequently by Princess Diana and one that also pays tribute to her husband, the Prince of Wales.

After greeting the Trumps, a carriage procession, and watching a military parade in the President and First Lady’s honor alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla, the three couples made their way inside Windsor Castle, where Kate changed up her hairstyle ever so slightly. Gone was the Jane Taylor fascinator; it was instead replaced by a velvet hair bow, which the Princess of Wales has been known to employ from time to time. She wore her hair—which has been the blondest and longest it’s ever been in the past month—in a half-up, half-down style.

The change was seen as William and Kate accompanied U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to view items from The Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle. Proving that she is masterful at flag dressing, the Princess of Wales coordinated her deep red look with Queen Camilla’s blue look, making up two-thirds of the colors on both the U.S. flag and the U.K.’s Union Jack, and a symbolic sign of coordination between the two women.

As Kate greeted the president to kick off the state visit, Trump told the future queen, “You’re beautiful, so beautiful,” according to People. It echoes similar comments he’s made about William in the past, like when the president told William he was “very handsome” in December 2024.

“He’s a good looking guy,” Trump told The New York Post after meeting with William at the ceremonial reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. “He looked really, really handsome last night.”

“Some people look better in person?” he added. “He looked great. He looked really nice, and I told him that.”

According to Kensington Palace, the meeting today between William, Kate, and the Trumps was “warm and friendly,” Hello! reported, though the palace didn’t share what was specifically discussed between the two couples.

While viewing items from The Royal Collection, Kate was shown handwritten letters from King George III, to which she replied thoughtfully (per The Telegraph), “There’s so much story behind it. When you look in the future, this will be emails and text message communications. It’s going to look very different.”

The Princess of Wales is expected to take part in a tiara moment at this evening’s state dinner at Windsor Castle, and will undertake a joint engagement with the First Lady on September 18, the last day of the Trumps’ visit.