The weather is warming up and so is the Princess of Wales’ hair. Hot on the heels of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh’s bob makeover, Kate is also leaning into the heatwave mood with a new lighter, warmer hair look for July. Summer air, meet royal hair!
Kate unveiled a gorgeous, shimmery honey-toned brunette shade during a hospital engagement in London yesterday. Her long, flowing style remains unchanged but the tone has been boosted with shimmery honey and cinnamon shades, adding a real summer flavour to her signature brunette.
While not as dramatic as Sophie’s chop, it’s just as beautiful in its own way. The warm tone flatters her complexion and instantly makes her hazel-green eye colour pop.
Kate’s honey-brunette shade is particularly flattering as it retains much of her dark hair’s natural depth, relying instead on a tonal switch to inject summer freshness.
Last time Kate experimented with a ‘bronde’ look, it was perhaps too much of a colour leap and also rather cool-toned, which slightly jarred against her skin. It struck a rare off-note for Kate, who swiftly returned to the dark side after the look received a mixed reception last autumn.
Today, Kate’s in a lighter mood once more – compare her new look to her darker Wimbledon ponytail last week – but it’s the sort of subtle shift that lands softly. At 44, it gives the radiant effect of a below-radar tweakment – more ‘You look well’, rather than ‘What did you do?’
Her new hair update cleverly avoids looking blocky by weaving in a multitude of finely-spun pieces of toffee, honey and caramel. Together they blur into an expensive-looking, ultra-soft finish with not a hint of stripes (one 90s trend we don’t want back).
It gets the seal of approval from celebrity hairdresser Jason Collier, who is the founder of Studio23 and key opinion leader at Jerome Russell Bblonde.
‘Kate's new honey brunette shade is a really elegant evolution of her signature look,’ he tells GH. ‘Rather than making a dramatic jump to blonde, she's lifted her natural brunette with soft honey and caramel ribbons that catch the light beautifully.’
‘The warmer tones bring a fresh, sun-kissed quality to her hair while still looking incredibly polished. It's the kind of colour that adds dimension and movement without losing the richness that's become synonymous with her style.’
He agrees that the new look is an upgrade on her original ‘blonde’ moment. ‘Compared to the lighter colour she debuted last year, I think this version is much more her. The previous shade felt a little too blonde against her naturally deeper base, so the contrast wasn't quite as seamless. This new take is far more balanced. By keeping the overall depth through the roots and mid-lengths and weaving in honey-toned highlights instead of pushing towards blonde, the result feels softer, more luxurious and much more in harmony with her complexion.’
Kate's new look is also 'a great example of where elevated hair colour is headed right now', he says. 'Instead of obvious highlights, we're seeing brunettes embrace tonal dimension that looks effortless and naturally sun-lit. Kate's colour has brightness around the face and through the lengths, but it never loses that healthy, glossy brunette finish, which is why it feels so timeless and flattering.'
We can always count on Kate to be perfectly on trend.
