When the Duchess of Sussex claimed that she spends her time Googling small and up-and-coming designers to put them in the global spotlight and boost sales, she raised eyebrows amongst royal watchers.
While she undoubtedly can be credited with putting the British brand Strathberry on the map, she often chose to wear high-end – and expensive – designer labels such as Givenchy, Dior and Oscar de la Renta on official engagements.
And, certainly, she is not the only member of the Royal Family to propel British brands to success: many labels attribute their sales boosts to the royal seal of approval.
REISS
Turnover: £325 million
Royal fans: The Prince and Princess of Wales
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Newly-wed Kate Middleton wore the £175 Shola dress from Reiss for a meeting with Barack and Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace after returning from her honeymoon in 2011
Since David Reiss set up his eponymous menswear company in 1971, moving into womenswear at the turn of the century, he has gone from strength to strength.
But it was when Kate began wearing the fashion label that sales soared.
She chose their £159 Nanette dress for her engagement photograph, taken by Mario Testino on November 25, 2010, and the dress sold out immediately.
Then, she wore their £175 Shola dress for a meeting with Barack and Michelle Obama, at Buckingham Palace, on May 24, 2011, and the company was made.
‘I have been in the business for 40 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this reaction, and not just in the UK, but overseas,’ Mr Reiss said.
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Prince William wore Reiss’s £285 Parade Green velvet blazer for the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in 2021
Prince William and Kate arrive at Earthshot Prize ceremony
‘You can’t put a monetary value on this kind of brand awareness and excitement.
‘As a brand we’ve always been understated – maybe even too discreet about who we are.
‘This has given us an incredible platform without straying from who we are as a brand.’
Kate has even recommended the label to her husband, who owns their £285 Parade green velvet blazer.
He wore it for the Earthshot Prize in London on October 17, 2021, and in Singapore, on November 7, 2023.
But Reiss, who is married with three children, has not let success turn his head: his only extravagance – apart from his Hampstead home – is a Bentley.
ME+EM
Turnover: £120million
Royal fans: The Princess of Wales; the Duchess of Edinburgh; Princess Beatrice; Zara Tindall.
Since it was founded by Clare Hornby in 2009, Me+Em has become the go-to label for royals, celebrities and politicians.
In fact, the label is one of the royals’ favourite brands. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, wore their £250 Pearl Zip Knitted Pleat Dress for International Nurses Day on May 12, 2021.
At the Chelsea Flower Show last year, the Princess of Wales took part in the first children’s picnic wearing this stunning colour block pink dress from Me+Em
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Zara Tindall wore Me+Em’s £295 Shadow Berry Print Maxi dress at Wimbledon on June 11 this year
Kate wore their £450 colour block silk shirt dress in bubble gum pink at Holyrood House nine days later, when she met leukaemia sufferer Mila Sneddon – they had both agreed to wear pink as it was Mila’s favourite colour.
The Princess more recently wore the same dress at the Chelsea Flower Show when she visited in 2023.
Meanwhile Beatrice wore the label for her third wedding anniversary on July 17, 2023, and Zara Tindall wore their £295 Shadow Berry Print Maxi dress at Wimbledon on June 11 this year.
SELF-PORTRAIT
Turnover: £51.6million
Royal fans: The Princess of Wales; Princess Beatrice; The Duchess of Sussex.
Malaysian designer Han Chong has become a favourite of the Royal Family, but it was Kate who discovered him first.
She wore his £320 white lace dress to the premiere of A Street Cat Named Bob on November 3, 2016.
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Kate’s first outing in a Self-Portrait dress was at the premiere of ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’ in aid of Action On Addiction in November 2016
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The Princess wore Self-Portrait for the ladies singles final at Wimbledon last year
Kate Middleton perfectly in sync with crowd in Wimbledon
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Princess Beatrice looked stunning in his Self-Portrait creation when she attended the V&A summer party in 2017
That year, Selfridges sold a Self-Portrait garment every six minutes and the brand has continued to grow.
Chong found out the Princess had worn his dress when someone tagged a blurry photograph on Instagram.
He said: ‘I couldn’t sleep that night. I was too excited. I could always see her wearing Self-Portrait, but I never thought it was going to happen.’
The following year, other royals copied Kate. Princess Beatrice has worn Chong’s designs more than a dozen times, including when she opted for the £300 navy blue lace dress for a visit to the V&A on June 21, 2017.
Meghan nearly broke the internet on April, 21, 2018, when she wore a £300 green floral midi dress to that year’s Invictus Games reception.
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Meghan nearly broke the internet on April, 21, 2018, when she wore Self-Portrait’s £300 green floral midi dress to that year’s Invictus Games reception
CROCKETT & JONES
Turnover: £36million
Royal fans: King Charles
British shoe brand Crockett & Jones has been a firm favourite of the King for the past 11 years, since he visited their factory in Northampton and was given a guided tour.
He owns both their Connaught lace-ups and Cavendish tassel loafers and has granted the company, which was established in 1879 during the Victorian age, a Royal Warrant.
‘King Charles has exceptional style, excellent taste and an eye for quality,’ director James Fox said afterwards.
‘His support of Made in England brands never goes unnoticed, and we couldn’t be prouder.’
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The King being shown around footwear manufacturers Crockett & Jones, to whom he has granted a Royal Warrant, 2013
ANYA HINDMARCH
Turnover: £20.5 million
Royal fans: Princess Diana: The Princess of Wales; Princess Eugenie
Princess Diana was the first member of the Royal Family to discover quirky bag designer Anya Hindmarch, who set up her eponymous company in 1987 at the age of 19.
She employed Anya, who was created a Dame in the King’s 2024 birthday honours list, to make satin clutch bags she could hold to her chest when she was stepping out of cars.
Anya embroidered the letter D inside the bags. Two decades later, her daughter-in-law Kate discovered the label, which became renowned for its limited-edition tote inscribed ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’.
She owns a £350 fan clutch bag, which she has carried three times, on her 2011 Canadian tour, at Wimbledon in 2014, and on her 2022 tour of the Caribbean.
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Diana, Princess of Wales, often referred to her purse by Anya Hindmarch as her ‘cleavage bag’
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Kate also carried this £350 fan clutch bag from Anya Hindmarch in the Caribbean in 2022
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Princess Eugenie holding a £1,300 silver crisp packet clutch at the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews in 2017
However, it is Princess Eugenie, who owns one of the label’s most iconic designs: a £1,300 silver crisp packet clutch she took to the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews in 2017.
Meghan is a more recent convert to the brand: she was recently spotted holding a £195 leather matchbook keyring inscribed with the phrase ‘Take What You Need’ when visiting the bookshop Godmothers, in Summerland, California.
The store is owned by her friends, literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and cosmetics mogul Victoria Jackson.
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Meghan was seen with this £195 leather matchbook keyring from Anya Hindmarch when she visited the Godmothers bookshop in Summerland, California
STRATHBERRY
Turnover: £17million
Royal fans: The Duchess of Sussex; The Princess of Wales
Strathberry’s £17million turnover can certainly be credited to Meghan, who carried their £495 Tricolour Midi Tote on her debut walkabout with Prince Harry in Nottingham December 2017.
The bag sold out within 24 hours and phones rang off the hook, changing the lives of husband-and-wife team Guy and Leeanne Hundleby overnight and catapulting the fledgling firm into the big league.
But the Kate effect was equally potent.
When she carried out a visit to the closing ceremony of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2021, the £295 Multrees Chain Wallet she was carrying sold out within hours.
‘Any carry from royals would generate an interest in the brand and a surge in traffic to the site and potential boost to sales,’ Mrs Hundleby said diplomatically.
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Strathberry’s £17million turnover can certainly be credited to Meghan, who carried their £495 Tricolour Midi Tote on her debut walkabout with Prince Harry in Nottingham December 2017
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When Kate carried out a visit to the closing ceremony of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the £295 Multrees Chain Wallet she was carrying sold out within hours
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The Princess of Wales carried the Mosaic Nano in Vanilla in December at Westminster Abbey, for the Together at Christmas carol service
Kate Middleton meets carol singers ahead of ‘Together at Christmas’
SOLE BLISS
Turnover: £10,000,000
Royal fans: Queen Camilla
Camilla, 77, has made no secret of the stress of royal walkabouts.
She once revealed that she used to be ‘screaming in agony at the end of the day’ and desperate to kick her heels off ‘at every opportunity’.
That is until she discovered bunion-busters Sole Bliss.
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Camilla has more than a dozen pairs of ‘miracle’ shoes from bunion-busting firm Sole Bliss. Above: Camilla wearing a pair of the shoes at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2021
She has more than a dozen pairs of her ‘miracle shoes’, which she buys online.
Her collection includes the £159 Carmen court shoes and the £159 Ingrid court shoes, which she buys in classic colours.
Camilla first wore a pair of Sole Bliss shoes – the Ingrid Camel leather block heels – at the Royal Cornwall Show in June 2018 and has since bought more than a dozen pairs, creating a ripple Camilla Effect.
‘I was relaxing after a day’s work at my factory in Italy when I first saw a photo online of the Duchess wearing my shoes,’ said founder Lisa Kay, who lives in north London with husband Roger.
‘I was so excited I jumped up and knocked over my Aperol Spritz!
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At the Sandringham Flower Show in 2018, Camilla wore a pair of her favourite Sole Bliss shoes
‘We immediately received emails from our customers asking if the Duchess was indeed wearing the same shoes as them!
‘I’m delighted and honoured that Her Royal Highness continues to wear Sole Bliss shoes.’
The Queen has even recommended the label to her friends, including TV chef Mary Berry.
She said: ‘I’ve started wearing new high heels recommended to me by the [then] Duchess of Cornwall.
‘I used to buy all my shoes from Russell & Bromley but now I wear these.’
JENNY PACKHAM
Turnover: £7.6million
Royal fans: The Princess of Wales
The sister of naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, Jenny Packham was already an established designer when she was discovered by the Princess of Wales.
She trained at Southampton College of Art and London’s St Martin’s School of Art, before presenting her first collection at the 1988 London Designer Show.
But there is no doubt that Kate has boosted her profile.
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Kate’s first official engagement after her wedding was wearing a Jenny Packham frock at the 10th Annual ARK Gala Dinner in 2011
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The Princess turned up to the premiere of James Bond film No Time To Die at the Royal Albert Hall in 2021 in this spectacular Jenny Packham gold caped dress
Two years after Kate wore her £3,835 rose pink and organza sequinned dress for her first official evening engagement on June 9, 2011, the V&A Museum held a retrospective of her work to celebrate 25 years of her label.
Since then, she has become the Princess’s go-to eveningwear designer and Kate has at least eight of her dresses in her wardrobe.
Who can forget the £4,097 gold embellished evening gown she wore to the James Bond premiere of No Time to Die on September 28, 2021?
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During hers and William’s Caribbean tour in 2022, Kate wore this green Jenny Packham dress for a dinner at King’s House in Jamaica
