Kate Middleton’s Hair Changes Through the Years, from Bangs to Blonde
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Kate Middleton has gone blonde, calling for a look back at all of her hair colors and styles through the years.
The Princess of Wales’ long honey-blonde hair caught the spotlight during her Sept. 4 visit to the Natural History Museum with Prince William, where she debuted her most dramatic hair transformation to date following a summer break.
As Princess Kate begins her blonde era, scroll to see photos of her most major hair transformations through the years.
2007
Indigo/Getty
The future princess had a breezy approach to beauty after graduating from the University of St. Andrews, embracing her hair’s natural brunette shade.
2010
Anwar Hussein/Getty
The future princess introduced what would become her signature style — a bouncy blowout with waves — at the photo call announcing her engagement to Prince William in November 2010.
2011
Indigo/Getty
Kate inspired brides everywhere when she wore her hair in a demi-chignon with cascading curls on her April 2011 wedding day.
“Catherine was very involved in her chosen style and the bridal look was based on her own personal preference,” Richard Ward, who did Kate’s hair for her wedding, told PEOPLE at the time. “It was really a matter of getting a fine balance of feeling natural but also reflected the occasion.”
2012
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
The newly minted Duchess of Cambridge cut layers with face-framing fringe into her hair in 2012.
2013
Chris Jackson/Getty
Princess Kate wore her long locks in a bouncy blowout when she left the hospital after giving birth to Prince George in July 2013, thanks to the handiwork of her private hair dresser, Amanda Tucker Cook.
The summer sun hit natural highlights in her hair as she left the Lindo Wing just one day after welcoming her first baby.
2014
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
A half-updo became Kate’s signature look for royal engagements around 2014 and remained her go-to style for several years.
2015
Chris Jackson – WPA Pool /Getty
Chop, chop! Kate turned heads by cutting bangs into her chestnut tresses in September 2015.
2016
WARREN ALLOTT/POOL/AFP via Getty
The Duchess of Cambridge darkened her tresses to a richer brown in the spring of 2016.
2017
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Kate grew her hair long again the following year and kept it simple with loose blowouts for several outings.
2017
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Kate reportedly donated seven inches of her hair to the Little Princess Trust in 2017. The U.K. charity provides free wigs to children and young people who have lost hair due to cancer treatment or other conditions.
“It’s lovely to think that somebody, somewhere — probably more than one person — has received a wig containing Princess Kate’s hair,” Helen Creese, a spokesperson for the charity, told PEOPLE at the time. “It’s a really lovely thought and it’s fantastic for raising awareness, plus it’s gorgeous hair — we all lust after that hair!”
2018
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
The Duchess of Cambridge refreshed her hair with a caramel color in 2018.
2019
Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty
Kate stepped into fall with a fresh hairstyle in September 2019 by warming up her look with highlights.
The then-Duchess of Cambridge debuted the change when she dropped Princess Charlotte off for her first day of school at Thomas’s Battersea in London.
2020
Arthur Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty
Kate revealed that her locks were layered and light in October 2020 during a rare public engagement amid the COVID pandemic.
2021
Karwai Tang/WireImage
The Duchess of Cambridge grew her hair long during the year of U.K. lockdowns and said that she was acting as the hair stylist for her kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, during that time.
“As parents, we have day-to-day elements of being a parent but, I suppose, during lockdown we’ve had to take on additional roles that others in our communities or in our lives would have helped us with,” she said on a video call in 2021. “I’ve become a hairdresser this lockdown, much to my children’s horror.”
2022
Proving that September is her season for hair transformations, Kate unveiled a hair change during a preview day for George, Charlotte and Louis enrolling at the Lambrook School in 2022.
The royal mom revealed a new look in which she took off length, added layers and touched up some highlights.
2023
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
The Princess of Wales kicked off the autumn in September 2023 with a true transformation and cut curtain bangs into her long brown hair.
Princess Kate wore her fall fringe with a middle part and mermaid waves for a few outings that fall, making a statement with the new look.
2024
Danny Lawson – WPA Pool/Getty
Princess Kate wore her hair long in 2024, the year in which she revealed that she was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Katherine Field, a cancer patient who met the Princess of Wales in January 2025, said that the royal told her that she didn’t use a cold cap, which can help prevent hair loss during chemotherapy, while receiving treatment.
2025
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty (2)
The Princess of Wales shocked royal watchers by debuting her longest and blondest hair ever on Sept. 4.
It’s a whole new look for Princess Kate, whose bouncy brown tresses had been a hallmark of her personal style.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
