What is the recipe for the perfect modern royal look?
For the Princess of Wales, it’s coat dresses and marvellous millinery, for Princess Mary of Denmark, it’s tailoring and vibrant colours, and for Queen Letizia of Spain, it’s all about sophisticated cuts.
However one accessory links theirs and other European royals’ styles, the failsafe flat.
Kate has long been wedded to her court shoes, Queen Letizia to skyscraper heels and the Duchess of Edinburgh to espadrille wedges, but now they have been shaking up their footwear choices joining a host of other royals in championing flats.
Sophisticated, stylish, and ultimately comfortable, flats can be just as classy as heels and are making a comeback.
The Noughties’ favourite ballet pump is more popular than ever, and thanks to their timeless design the pretty and practical shoe is having a renaissance together with minimalist loafers.
Queen Letizia of Spain
Letizia is always up to the mark.
But a recent change of direction in the shoe department is down to doctors’ advice following pain in her feet and is behind her choice of sparkly flat sandals which she wore with a & Other Stories silk slip dress when attending the closing ceremony of the Atlantida Mallorca Film Festival in August 2022.
Queen Letizia wears flats for last week’s visit to the Association for the Prevention, Reintegration, and Care of Prostituted Women in Madrid
Letizia’s flats in close-up for last week’s outing
Letizia of Spain at the 12th Atlantida Mallorca Film Festival in 2022
As she arrived at the central headquarters of the Association for the Prevention, Reintegration and Care of Prostituted Women in Madrid this week, Queen Letizia supported the organisation by wearing a tweed jacket with frayed edges made by their fashion department.
The fitted jacket was teamed with a classic pair of Hugo Boss wide leg trousers which were neatly cropped to show her Adeba ballet flats complete with an ankle strap. Letizia is usually famed for her impressive collection of skyscraper heels.
Catherine, Princess of Wales
While the Princess of Wales has been known for sticking to court shoes, she has started swapping her favourite heels for flats. For example, she chose a pair of pointed black suede flats from Boden for a Shaping Us event in September last year.
The Princess of Wales visits part of her campaign for early childhood in Sittingbourne last year
Catherine’s flat pumps pictured in detail
The Princess had been in flats just a few months earlier, this time on a visit to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire
Flats were the order of the day at the Guards Polo Club in 2022
A close-up of the black and nude flat-heeled slingbacks with decorative buckles
She teamed them with her signature red Zara blazer.
A few months earlier she chose a similar pair of pumps, this time a navy style from Emmy London while visiting the Royal International Air Tattoo.
Sticking to the same outfit formula, the royal wore them with a double-breasted blazer by Blazé Milano and navy slim-fit trousers.
Once again practical yet polished, it was a pair of Camilla Elphick two-tone summer flats to attend the Royal Charity Polo Cup in July 2022.
Departing from her usual espadrille wedges, they were the perfect combination with her Emilia Wickstead monochrome dress.
Queen Mary of Denmark
In June 2020 Queen Mary attended the opening of the Naturkraft experience in Ringkøbing in Jutland wearing a pair of Chanel espadrilles.
Queen Mary attends the 2020 opening of the Naturkraft centre in Ringkoebing
Mary pictured with children at the Ringkoebing nature centre
Mary of Denmark chooses nude and black sling-backs for a two-day visit to The Netherlands
She paired the casual flats with a Ba&Sh blue shirt, blazer and slim leg trousers. Keeping with two tone Chanel, Mary donned the brands iconic sling backs during a trip to the Netherlands in June 2022, completing the Parisian chic ensemble with a Beulah fitted frock.
Princess Diana
Princess Diana often opted for flats on casual occasions, choosing loafers from Gucci and suede moccasins. Yet in the famous image from her honeymoon, it was a pair of cream flats from a Chelsea cobbler that stole the show.
Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales pose for a honeymoon photo on the banks of the river Dee at Balmoral Castle. She is in flats…
Heavily pregnant with her first child, William, Diana chose black patent flats to meet well-wishers in St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly in April, 1982
Steering away from conventional boots, Diana added glamour and elegance to her tweed Bill Pashley suit while on a walk beside the River Dee in Balmoral.
Later in April 1982, the princess added flats to her dressed up wardrobe, teaming a pair of patent bow pumps from Ferragamo with a ruffled Catherine Walker dress for a masterclass in maternity style.
Princess Victoria of Sweden
Victoria’s style is a tale of two halves. At royal soirées she provides princess perfection with voluminous gowns in vivid hues.
Crown Princess Victoria pays a 2022 visit to a charity promoting sustainable seas in Stockholm
However her working day wardrobe is more monochrome minimalism, as seen in June 2022 at the Open Ship event at the Museum of Photography in Stockholm.
A pair of Marzio two tone ballet flats were the perfect contrast to her Ralph Lauren dress which was layered under a By Malene Birger blazer.
Princess Charlene of Monaco
Princess Charlene skipped her usual heels and added glamour to the simple flat shoe by choosing a pair of Jimmy Choo metallic pointed loafers for a Christmas party in 2016.
Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Jacques attend the annual Christmas gift distribution at Monaco Palace on December 14, 2016
Charlene in silver flats and Jacques wave at the cameras
Fast forward to December 2022 and Charlene’s festive look included flats again when she inaugurated the annual Christmas Village in Monaco, although this time it was a classic pair of over the knee black boots worn beneath an Akris Colourblock coat.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
During a state visit to Greece in October 2022, Queen Maxima turned to Greek designers Zeus & Dione for a statuesque column dress in burnt orange and beige and ditched her towering heels, instead pairing the tailored frock with Gianvito Rossi leather ballet flats and a Sophie Habsburg clutch.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attend a meeting with the Dutch community during the first day of the Dutch State Visit visit to Greece 2022. Her flats, liker her dress, is in Dutch Orange
We normally see Maxima in towering heels like these – although on this occasion she might have preferred flats. She is pictured in the Dutch Caribbean last year
In flats for the beach. Maxima poses with Princess Amalia and King Willem-Alexander in the Dutch Caribbean
In January 2023 when visiting the Caribbean wearing a floaty Zimmermann dress and Fabienne Delvigne turban, Maxima again swapped the Gianvito Rossi shoes she first stepped out in for a more comfortable choice of Salvatore Ferragamo loafers.
Back in 2017 Queen Maxima was just as stylish in flats, adding a colourful splash in a blue embroidered Vita Kin dress, oversized hat and matching open toe denim sandals which perfectly picked out the accent colour of her look.
Duchess of Edinburgh
The Duchess of Edinburgh’s style uniform usually includes espadrille wedges and suede court shoes, but when attending celebrations in Norway in 2017 she chose a pair of Chloé ballet flats with a scalloped edge to accessorise her Sportmax coat and Prada printed shirt.
Sophie, Duchess of Wessex chooses nude flats for a visit to Norway in celebration of King Harald’s 80th birthday
In practical flats once again, this time as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
Showing that flats can perfectly compliment a patterned dress, it was a pair of cream Nicola Sexton pointed loafers that added structure to her Etro midi dress during a tour of the Cayman Islands in February 2023, and in October 2023 blush pink suede pumps from The Row co-ordinated with the print of her Maxmara shirt dress in Ethiopia.
Queen Camilla
Along with her favoured block heels, Queen Camilla turns to Sole Bliss for comfortable flat pumps and is reported to owns 11 pairs of varying styles.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attends the South of England Show on June 8, 2017
Asked to make a shoe impression for posterity St Michaels Mount, Camilla wore comfortable flats
Specialising in stylish but comfortable footwear with wider toe boxes, hidden stretch panels and three layers of cushioning to accommodate issues such as bunions, they are perfect for a royal who’s on her feet meeting the public all day.
It was these that she wore to the South of England Show in 2017 paired with a blue skirt suit, showing that comfortable shoes can still look chic.
In 2010 she chose a pair of Footglove loafers which are equally designed for comfort when making imprints of her feet for a cast at St Michaels Mount.
Infanta Sofia
Sixteen-year-old Infanta Sofia has been turning to flats to help her avoid towering over her older sister Leonor and mother Queen Letizia.
Infanta Sofia is taller than her older sister, Leonor, who is heir to the throne. There is speculation that Sofia wears flats so as not to overshadow her sister
In this picture, Leonor is wearing heels – but her younger sister is still taller even though she is wearing flat shoes
At 5’7″ she is already more than two inches taller than them both, so routinely turns to flats to avoid overshadowing her family members.
For the swearing in of her sister Princess Leonor in October 2023 a pair of LMDI slingbacks complemented the black belt on her Erdem cape sleeve dress, while a similar style of slingback Massimo Dutti pumps matched the boucle piping on the Sandro dress she wore for the Princess of Asturias Awards.