Kate Middleton in her Penelope Chilvers boots and Meg Bellamy who plays her in The Crown, season six.Photo:Stephen Lock/Shutterstock; Justin Downing/Netflix; Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Stephen Lock/Shutterstock; Justin Downing/Netflix; Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Kate Middleton’s fashion moments of the noughties are making a comeback!
While bootcut jeans have gone in and out of style multiple times and pashminas are no longer the must-have Sloane Ranger accessory, there is one investment piece from Kate’s university days that has stood the test of time: herbrown tasseled knee-high leather boots.
“We were thrilled when the costume designer forThe Crownrequested our Long Tassel boots for the styling of Kate Middleton in the new series,” Penelope Chilvers, designer of the boots, tells PEOPLE. “The boots had to be the real thing, and we were happy to oblige!”
Kate Middleton at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park in August, 2005.Indigo/Getty Images
Indigo/Getty Images
The latest installment of the fictional drama on Netflix depicts the blossoming of Kate andPrince William’s friendship while they were both studying at St. Andrews University. In real life, the couple had been dating secretly since at least 2003, but it wasn’t until 2004 that the relationship went public — coincidently, the same year Chilvers started her eponymous brand.
“I launched the company from my kitchen table, and those were the first boots I ever made,” Chilvers previously told PEOPLE, adding that Kate was one of her first-ever customers. “Probably the most exciting time that she ever wore them, for me, was the first time at Blenheim Palace for some country fair, which was around the time that her relationship with William was announced to the world and it went viral.”
Kate Middleton.Stephen Lock/Shutterstock; Joe Giddens - Pool/Getty Images; CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Since then, Princess Kate has worn the boots on several royal engagements, including a five-hour hike in the Himalayas in Bhutan in 2016.
“She often wears them to talk about conservation, like when she wore them on the beach in Wales when they were helping to collect rubbish coming out of the sea. Whether it’s in Canada, in that conservation area of forestry, or Bhutan, which is also protected landscape. It might be a coincidence, but on so many occasions, it does seem to go hand-in-hand with the sustainable message that we share,” says the designer.
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The design later sold for $125,000 at auction, and Todd told PEOPLE at the time: “Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history. It’s madness!”
Filming those scenes, Bellamy said was anxiety-inducing for many reasons.
“I think at first I was a bit apprehensive, purely because it was the first time I had really felt like I was reliving a key event that I remembered seeing in the news,” the actress reflected in an interview with Netflix. “It was a really liberating experience, and it was so great for the self-esteem. I had such fun.”
source: people.com
