Which may seem like no news at all. It\u2019s usual to see celebrities reveal drastic makeovers: an extreme haircut for a new film role, expensive cosmetic surgery in time for red-carpet season. Kate having a few highlights shouldn\u2019t be a shock. But our expectations of modern royals are anything but modern. <\/p>\n
Queen Elizabeth II set the expectations for a royal woman ageing in the public eye<\/a>: to be always and instantly recognisable to your public. Camilla hasn\u2019t changed her hair in years \u2014 it\u2019s just a fraction lighter than it was 25 years ago, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if she\u2019s still using the same round brush to blow-dry those flicky-out ends. Perhaps it\u2019s to ensure consistency on those commemorative plates. Kate was a brunette at her royal wedding, so brunette she must stay.<\/p>\n Kate attending Wimbledon last month<\/p>\n KARWAI TANG\/WIREIMAGE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n But she\u2019s also part of a younger generation \u2014 mine, actually \u2014 though she may seem much more pulled together than most millennials. I was 12 when I first dyed my hair in the bathtub at home; 15 when I had blonde highlights. <\/p>\n The temptation to go blonde is strong when pop culture and beauty ideals tell you that you\u2019re missing something; that blondes have more fun, that gentlemen prefer them. I went blonde again in my late twenties, peroxide this time. And since the greys have started peppering my brunette hair, I\u2019ve been discussing with my hairdresser a few honeyish streaks of my own, the better to blend in greys. <\/p>\n That warm, flattering, face-brightening honey shade is a go-to, almost a default, for white women in their forties, fifties and sixties, as much a hair milestone as the new-mum bob or the break-up big chop. With Jennifer Aniston as a poster girl<\/a>, it\u2019s a transition that many of Kate\u2019s close friends will be making around her. Her mother, Carole, has slices of warm blonde in her bob. <\/p>\n Kate with her mother, Carole<\/p>\n ANTONY JONES\/BRENDAN BIERNE\/UK PRESS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n The faff and cost of colour touch-ups to cover roots or potential greys aren\u2019t considerations the Princess has to worry about \u2014 I\u2019m sure she has her hair team on speed dial (probably dialled by someone else). But \u2014 and I\u2019m projecting here \u2014 she may simply prefer to spend her time elsewhere. Perhaps she\u2019s just taking a summer break from the maintenance that comes with being camera-ready. <\/p>\n And if this is a permanent change? Then it really will be news. Kate rarely allows herself to deviate far from her signature look. It makes the front page when she wears trousers. Her every shoe choice is the subject of thousands of Instagram posts. Each outfit is dissected for the hidden messages in her choices: a high street handbag, a London Fashion Week appearance. <\/p>\n \u2022 Kate is downsizing \u2014 and living life on her own terms now<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Supporting British fashion houses boosts the economy, but it seems that public opinion deems it undignified for our royals to stray too far into vanity \u2014 as if a hair transplant for a receding royal may weaken the empire. <\/p>\n![\"Catherine,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/be0a800a-6292-4860-b0b4-1df761e5c390.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/854e155b-b3e0-449a-8244-067369979062.jpg\")
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