Not only do we love the Princess of Wales' fashionable outfits, Kate Middleton's hair always looks perfect too. From her thick glossy curls to neat up-dos, she's provided us with plenty of hair inspiration over the years since she came into the spotlight following her engagement to Prince William in 2010.
While she's played things rather safe with her hair, she's made some very subtle yet stylish changes over the years to keep up with current trends. She's also no stranger to a hair accessory or a hat, showcasing many hair accessories at official Royal events.
Whether you want to take some inspiration from some of Kate's hairstyles or take a nostalgic look back at her hair over the years, come with us on a trip with us down memory lane.
Kate Middleton hair journey
June 2005
As the girlfriend of Prince William, Kate began to receive a lot of media attention around the mid-2000's. Here she is photographed attending a society wedding wearing a black fascinator with one side of the hair pulled back.
November 2005
Here she is with her mum, Carole Middleton, showing a shorter side fringe with some shorter layers. It's clear to see here how much natural volume Kate's hair has been blessed with.
May 2007
Here's Kate at a book launch in 2007, a few years before she and Prince William announced their engagement. Here she's wearing her hair in a deep side parting with shorter layers around the front.
May 2006
At the wedding of Laura Parker-Bowles and Harry Lopes, Kate's iconic blow dry is starting to appear, with curled ends and layers around the face. She's still got the side parting with a rather large fascinator on top.
June 2006
Kate makes a big change to the front of her hair with a chunky sweeping fringe as she attends a party in London with friends. This is the only time we've ever really seen Kate with a fuller fringe.
December 2006
Looking more like the Kate we know and love today, here she is at one of her first official events as Prince William's girlfriend watching him at the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Although she's opted for a rather large hat, you can see the fringe is no more.
February 2007
Here you can see Kate's fringe is really growing out as she's spotted on a night out with sister Pippa Middleton. Her parting is also becoming more central rather than a side parting too at this point.
August 2009
Kate's hair has grown a lot over the past few years and it's well below her shoulders now. Here she is at the wedding of Nicholas van Cutsem and Alice Hadden-Paton with a much more relaxed look to the hair with dropped-out curls.
November 2010
There was a dramatic difference in the texture of Kate's hair at her and Prince William's engagement announcement photoshoot and interview where she first wore the late Princess Diana's engagement ring. It appeared much shinier with no frizz insight – no doubt done by a professional hairdresser.
July 2011
A half up half down do is brilliant for keeping hair off your face while still keeping most of your hair down and Kate wears it really well.
May 2012
Kate's updos are rather impressive, and although we're sure she has a team of stylists perfecting the hair looks, we'll be taking some inspiration from this for our next wedding or special occasion!
September 2012
During their Diamond Jubilee tour in the Solomon Islands, Kate's hair wasn't even immune to the humidity, and it was so nice to see her natural waves appearing in the heat.
November 2012
We love some curtain bangs and Kate really suits this kind of fringe that frames the face. Here she is with her iconic voluminous hair and curtain bangs.
October 2015
Kate is regularly spotted wearing her hair in a neat ponytail, especially at events where the weather might be windier. Here she wears her curtain fringe down with hair wrapped around her ponytail bobble and gripped to secure.
January 2017
Not only does Kate love a tighter updo with a more neatened finish, we love this more relaxed half up half-down style where you can really see the layers of Kate's hair.
October 2017
Kate's hair has also been quite long, so we were shocked when she had a bit of a chop into more of a shorter bob hairstyle style haircut in 2017.
October 2019
It was clear to see here that Kate began to experiment with some colour for the first time. There was a clear subtle blonde touch to her hair when the sun shone on it and we think it looked fabulous.
February 2023
Kate adopted a straighter hairstyle more recently, most likely achieved by one of the leading straightening tools like the Dyson Corrale hair straightener. This style really shows off her hair's length and growth over recent years. Her shorter layers had also grown out by this point with a more even length.
May 2023
More recently, Kate has brought back her deeper side parting with more of a Hollywood wave finish rather than classic curls at the ends of her lengths.