Trendspotting: The Princess of Wales has been trying to make “patterned/tartan coats” into “her thing” for much of the past year. She even went so far as to “design” her own tartan coat (which didn’t fit properly) for a recent event. Well, today she chose a patterned coat which looks tartan-y from a distance, but as you can see, it’s more of a mod circular pattern. Bold! For Kate, it’s bold. Anyway, Kate was in west Wales today, Pembrokeshire to be exact. She visited “Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs.” Interesting enough, Kate will also visit another local business with a royal connection… to the Duchess of Sussex.
The Princess of Wales is set to travel to west Wales on Tuesday for a visit to Hiut Denim, a premium jeans manufacturer based in Cardigan that was propelled to international attention after being worn by Meghan Markle. Kensington Palace confirmed the engagement last week, with Catherine scheduled to tour the family-run business as part of her ongoing efforts to champion British textile producers and independent enterprises.
The Welsh brand holds a notable place in recent royal fashion history, having been thrust into the global spotlight in 2018 when the Duchess of Sussex chose Hiut’s high-waisted Dina skinny jeans for an official visit to Cardiff alongside Prince Harry.
The appearance sparked what co-founder David Hieatt described as the “Meghan Markle effect”, generating a surge in demand for the company’s products.
“In the next four weeks, we are moving into a factory that’s three times the size and we’ve hired eight new people the Meghan Markle effect is real!” Mr Hieatt told People at the time.
Please, this is so funny. It just reminds everyone of how much research Meghan did eight or nine years ago too, the fact that she was highlighting this little-known Welsh brand and putting it on the map. Eight years later, CopyCatherine stumbles through the same company, demanding that they give her credit for ALSO highlighting it!
Something else Kate-related: she made another “undercover” visit, this time to an art gallery. Why is she doing these under-the-radar visits to arts-related stuff? She has one of the biggest platforms in the world and she acts like it should be a dirty little secret that she’s going to see ballet shows and art exhibits. And then her “work schedule” is full of busywork like random mill visits and Meghan copykeening.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- 03/02/2026. Castlemorris, UK. The Princess of Wales during a visit to Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. Her Royal Highness met Melin Tregwynt’s director, Louise Clarke and then spent time with weavers at the loom and learned about the skills required for Welsh double cloth weaving, which Melin Tregwynt is renowned for.,Image: 1071751024, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 03/02/2026. Castlemorris, UK. The Princess of Wales during a visit to Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. Her Royal Highness met Melin Tregwynt’s director, Louise Clarke and then spent time with weavers at the loom and learned about the skills required for Welsh double cloth weaving, which Melin Tregwynt is renowned for.,Image: 1071751028, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 03/02/2026. Castlemorris, UK. The Princess of Wales during a visit to Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. Her Royal Highness met Melin Tregwynt’s director, Louise Clarke and then spent time with weavers at the loom and learned about the skills required for Welsh double cloth weaving, which Melin Tregwynt is renowned for.,Image: 1071751037, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 03/02/2026. Castlemorris, UK. The Princess of Wales during a visit to Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. Her Royal Highness met Melin Tregwynt’s director, Louise Clarke and then spent time with weavers at the loom and learned about the skills required for Welsh double cloth weaving, which Melin Tregwynt is renowned for.,Image: 1071751045, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
