The Princess of Wales is a master of sartorial diplomacy, and her latest look featured a subtle nod to the host city.

Prince William and Princess Catherine, both 44, paid a visit to Belfast in Northern Ireland on Friday, stopping at The Commons community project and an IKEA store.

The mother-of-three debuted a new green tartan skirt by Emilia Wickstead and a matching top handle Mulberry bag, with the colour seen as a nod to Ireland.

But her famous tresses also featured another homage to the region, having been styled into a half-updo with an intricate Celtic knot braid and tumbling loose waves.

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It sparked a flurry of comments from royal fans on social media, with one exclaiming: “Her hairstyle is beautiful,” while another said: “I want someone to do my hair this way!”

A third added of the Celtic knot: “A beautiful and thoughtful detail.”

Celtic knots are an infinite looped knot, with no distinct start or end, and they can convey many different meanings, including eternity and the cycle of life and death.

Catherine’s apology

The Prince and Princess took the time to speak with well-wishers outside The Commons, with Catherine even speaking on a video call with a woman who was talking with her mother and sister.

“Hi,” Catherine exclaimed to the pair before waving at them. “Nice to meet you. Sorry to interrupt your morning or afternoon.”

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She then asked the time, saying: “What is the time now? I always lose track of time.”

After being told that it was 14:21, she responded: “Afternoon!” Watch the moment below.

The Princess has previously admitted that she spends too long chatting during walkabouts. In the Queen at Ninety documentary, released in 2016, she confessed: “I think there is a real art to walkabouts. Everyone teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting, so I think I’ve still got to learn a little bit more and pick up a few more tips I suppose.”

And on Christmas Day in 2024, Catherine ended up being separated from her family as she took the time to speak with locals who had gathered outside St Mary Magdalene church in Sandringham.

“I think I’ve lost my family,” she quipped at the time.

Proud William

The Prince and Princess, who are known as Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus when they’re in Northern Ireland, visited The Commons, a project to transform a church on the Ormeau Road into a community centre.

The outing marked the first time the Princess has joined her husband on a Homewards engagement, as he proudly told their hosts: “I am bringing her to see a one-stop-shop on homelessness today.”

The couple met with the chairs of the New Employment Opportunities Network (Neon), an initiative launched by the Royal Foundation under William’s Homewards programme, which aims to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated.

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Neon aims to bring together businesses with the community and voluntary sector to prevent homelessness by supporting employment.

“If nothing else from Homewards we need to make sure that point comes across very strongly, that every region of the UK has massively different ways and problems to tackle homelessness,” William said when speaking with Neon chairs from across the UK.

“And everyone thinks it’s just a one size fits all problem, it’s just ‘more houses that’ll fix it’, and it’s not, so it’s really important that we flesh out kind of the different aspects of homelessness.”