Princess Kate reworks Rapunzel bridal hair - in a 'lightened' colour

Kate's latest hair look

On her wedding day in 2011, Kate's hair, which was styled by James Pryce and Richard Ward from the Richard Ward Salon in Chelsea, was fashioned into a demi chignon with ringlet curls. The main difference from her look earlier this week was the choice by her bridal hairdressers to part her hair to one side, whereas in Wales, it was all pulled back off her face.

It's a look that struck a chord with Suzie McGill, a hairstylist who has over 30 years of experience in the industry. "For Kate's recent visit to the textile manufacturers, she wore a modern half-up style that references her wedding-day look, reworked with a lighter, more contemporary finish. The shape is soft and balanced, with volume focused through the top of the head and her signature cascading lengths left loose through the back," she says.

"The style works particularly well with Kate’s recently lightened colour, allowing the different tones to show through and adding depth and dimension. Polished but not overly refined, the look feels appropriate for the occasion while remaining easy and wearable."

Kate debuted blonder sun-bleached highlights during a visit to the National Gallery in 2025, taking the internet by storm with the lighter shade.

Recreating Kate's hair

If you want to recreate Kate's look from her Welsh outing, look no further. Suzie has given us a step-by-step guide…

1. Apply a volumising product at the roots and a smoothing cream/serum through mid-lengths and ends. 
2. Blow-dry with a round brush at the crown to build soft lift, keeping the lengths smooth.
3. Add loose movement with a medium barrel tong or curling tongs and gently brush through to soften the waves.
4. Take two front sections and secure them into a soft half-up shape, maintaining volume at the crown.
5. Finish with a light, flexible hairspray and a small amount of shine serum through the ends.

Kate's epic half-updo

While Kate mostly opts for her hair down and in loose waves, it's not the first time she has embraced a half-up look since her wedding day. We particularly like her take from 2012, when she swapped cascading curls for flicky ends and secured the top section with little brown hairclips. 

She wore her hair like this for a visit to the Singapore Botanical Gardens on day one of their Diamond Jubilee tour, which included stops in Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and the tiny Pacific Island of Tuvalu.