With their silky brown blow-dries and ability to traverse from sporty luxe to suited slick, via ballgown beauty, they’re the ultimate examples of what we’re dubbing ‘Head Girl Chic’

Queen Mary of Denmark and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales: These brunette beauties ask you to sit with them at lunch – what do you do?

Pictured standing side by side, Queen Mary of Denmark and Kate Middleton look like the two popular girls at school who are actually quite nice and approachable. They go to parties, sure, and have the best prom dresses, but they’re also straight-A students and captains of the hockey team. Their hunky boyfriends go to the boys’ school down the road, but they’ll definitely let you copy their homework when you’re in a pinch. With their silky brown blow-dries and ability to traverse from sporty luxe to suited slick, via ballgown beauty, they’re the ultimate examples of what we’re dubbing ‘Head Girl Chic.’ Which makes sense for the future queens of Denmark and England respectively: a role which is, ultimately, the final evolution of Head Girl

Queen Mary and Kate Middleton have been dubbed ‘style twins’ for their similar taste in royal fashion – and at a gala ball in Copenhagen, the Danish Queen proved that the best things come in twos when she donned one of the Princess of Wales’s most recognisable Jenny Packham gowns

By Ben Jureidini

When apart, they’re often brought together through outfit comparisons and oh-so-frequent and slightly misogynistic speculations, including ‘who wore it better’ and ‘who copied whom’. Instead, Tatler peers through their effortlessly chic and sometimes coordinating wardrobes.

The Princess of Wales in 2023

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Queen Mary of Denmark earlier this week

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Like an enthusiastic younger sibling, Kate very well may have borrowed inspiration from Mary’s infamously cool roster of outfits. ‘Kate is like a younger sister to Mary, who is both beautiful and elegant,’ Karl Lagerfeld commented ahead of the Wales’ royal wedding in 2011. But when you’re outfitting yourself for one of the most complex dress codes on the planet – a female monarch – is it any wonder the pair have an allied sense of style?

With the recent and sudden announcement of Queen Margrethe of Denmark’s abdication on New Year’s Eve, Queen Mary stepped up to the throne much sooner than many thought. And while there have certainly been more eyes on her than ever, Mary and Kate’s fashion remains remarkably in step.

On February 28, Queen Mary attended an Arts and Culture gala ball in Copenhagen where the 53-year-old wore one of the Princess of Wales’s most iconic gowns. Stepping out into the Great Hall of Christiansborg Palace with King Frederik and Queen Margrethe by her side, Queen Mary shone in a pearlescent rose-pink sequin dress by British designer Jenny Packham. With crystals cascading down the neckline and embellishing the belt on the waist, the gown was the perfect fit for the diamond necklace tiara, which the Danish Queen recently transformed into a headpiece. The Jenny Packham gown is instantly recognisable as the same dress that the Princess of Wales, 43, wore to the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in December 2023. On that occasion, Catherine paired the ‘Georgia’ dress with her characteristic Lover’s Knot tiara and Queen Elizabeth’s Greville chandelier diamond earrings by Cartier.

Here, Tatler explores the princesses’ best twinning looks over the last few years.