Kate Middleton brings back gingham in a black-and-white midi dress, a direct nod to Lady Diana

In the summer of 2026, Kate Middleton once again turned heads at a sporting event. This time, it wasn’t at Wimbledon but on the polo field that the Princess of Wales made a memorable style statement. Her choice of print directly echoes a trend worn by Princess Diana decades earlier.

A gingham look at the 2026 DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup

The occasion was the DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup 2026, held in July at Windsor. Prince William was also taking part. For the event, the Princess of Wales chose a sleeveless midi dress with a strong, confident silhouette.

The piece stands out for its wide straps, square neckline and floaty skirt with tie details at the waist. The style is black and white, adorned with a gingham check print. The minimalist cut pairs beautifully with the simplicity of the two-tone palette.

The check pattern, neither too fine nor too bold, manages to feel both modern and elegant. This kind of midi dress perfectly illustrates how Kate Middleton gravitates towards simple pieces with strong visual impact. With this choice, the Princess once again confirms her sharp instinct for seasonal dressing.

“Gingham is absolutely timeless.”

A print that spans royal generations

The gingham pieces worn by Princess Diana in the 1980s and 1990s, however, had a slightly more romantic and playful quality. This came down partly to the smaller checks, but also to the colours Diana favoured.

During a visit to Nigeria in 1990, Diana wore a black-and-cream gingham blouse, paired with a cream pencil skirt and matching shoes. In the years before, she had worn the same print in shades of pink and red, as seen in September 1989 and again in 1986 with a pair of red checked trousers.

• The Princess’s gingham midi dress is sleeveless, with wide straps.
• The neckline is square and the floaty skirt ties at the waist.
• The black-and-white colourway takes a more understated approach than Diana’s pieces.
• Diana was wearing gingham in pinks and reds as far back as the 1980s.
• On her trip to Nigeria in 1990, she was already opting for a black-and-cream version.

Diana, pioneer of a trend that never went away

Diana’s take on gingham had a more whimsical character, owing to the smaller scale of the checks and her colour choices. Yet the underlying structure remained the same: geometric-print pieces worn with an effortless, natural ease.

From the cream pencil skirt worn in Nigeria to the Princess of Wales’s black-and-white midi dress in 2026, the thread connecting the two is unmistakable. Gingham moves through the decades without ever feeling dated. It works just as well with romantic cuts as it does with cleaner, more pared-back silhouettes.

The fact that two Princesses of Wales have each embraced this print decades apart speaks to its enduring style credentials. Gingham is not a fleeting trend. It is a visual signature that returns each summer with renewed relevance.

Gingham dresses to channel this royal style

For anyone looking to adopt the print, a number of midi styles capture this spirit. Brands such as Posse, Self-Portrait, Simkhai, Staud, Veronica Beard and Reformation all offer checked midi dresses in a variety of cuts. Whether in linen, cotton or other lightweight fabrics, these pieces are made for summer.

It is easy, then, to take inspiration from the Princess’s look without replicating the exact piece. A black-and-white gingham midi dress is the most direct choice. But colourful versions, like those Diana once wore, are equally compelling.

Gingham: the unmissable summer trend of 2026

Even before her appearance at the polo tournament, Kate Middleton had already made waves at Wimbledon 2026. For the men’s final, won by Jannik Sinner, she wore a grass-green cape dress. Two sporting occasions, two unforgettable outfits.

Yet it is the gingham dress that forges the strongest connection to Princess Diana’s style legacy. This checked print sat perfectly with Diana’s aesthetic at the time. Today, it sits just as naturally with that of the current Princess of Wales.

By choosing this timeless print, Kate Middleton aligns herself with a royal style continuum without resorting to imitation. She reinterprets a trend through her own sensibility. Graphic and understated in equal measure, gingham is set to be one of the defining prints of summer 2026.