What is the recipe for the perfect modern royal look?
For the Princess of Wales it's coat dresses and wonderful millinery, for Princess Mary of Denmark it's tailoring and bright colors and for Queen Letizia of Spain it's all about sophisticated cuts.
However, there is one accessory that ties her style to that of other European royals: the fail-safe flat.
Kate has long been married to her pumps, Queen Letizia to skyscraper heels and the Duchess of Edinburgh to espadrille wedges, but now they've changed up their shoe choices, joining a host of other royals embracing flats.
Sophisticated, stylish and extremely comfortable – flat shoes can be just as classy as heels and are making a comeback.
The most popular ballerina flats of the noughties are more popular than ever and thanks to their timeless design, the pretty and practical shoes are experiencing a renaissance together with minimalist slip-ons.
Queen Letizia of Spain
Letizia is always up to date.
But a recent change of direction in the shoe department came on the advice of doctors after she experienced pain in her feet, and is the reason for her choice of sparkly flat sandals, which she wore to the Atlantida Mallorca closing ceremony with a silk slip dress from & Other Stories Film festival in August 2022.
Queen Letizia wears flat shoes while visiting the Association for the Prevention, Rehabilitation and Care of Prostituted Women in Madrid last week
Letizia's apartments in close-up for the trip last week
Letizia from Spain at the 12th Atlantida Mallorca Film Festival in 2022
When Queen Letizia arrived at the headquarters of the Association for the Prevention, Rehabilitation and Care of Prostituted Women in Madrid this week, she supported the organization by wearing a tweed jacket with frayed edges made by the fashion department.
The fitted jacket was paired with classic wide-leg pants from Hugo Boss, which were neatly cropped to reveal her ankle-strap Adeba ballet flats. Letizia is usually known for her impressive collection of skyscraper heels.
Catherine, Princess of Wales
While the Princess of Wales is known for sticking to pumps, she has started swapping her favorite heels for flats. For example, for a Shaping Us event last September, she chose a pair of pointed black suede flats from Boden.
The Princess of Wales visited Sittingbourne as part of her early childhood campaign 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
Flat shoes were the order of the day at the Guards Polo Club in 2022
A close-up of the black and nude flat slingbacks with decorative buckles
She paired it with her signature red Zara blazer.
A few months earlier, while attending the Royal International Air Tattoo, she opted for a similar pair of pumps, this time a navy blue style from Emmy London.
Following the same outfit formula, the royal wore it with a double-breasted blazer from Blazé Milano and dark blue slim-fit trousers.
Once again practical yet elegant: a pair of two-tone summer flats from Camilla Elphick, which attended the Royal Charity Polo Cup in July 2022.
Aside from her usual espadrille wedges, they were the perfect pairing with her monochrome Emilia Wickstead 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 takes part in the opening of the Naturkraft Center 2020 in Ringköbing
Maria pictured with children in the Ringköbing Nature Center
Maria of Denmark chooses nude and black slingbacks for a two-day visit to the Netherlands
She paired the casual ballet flats with a blue shirt from Ba&Sh, a blazer and slim-leg trousers. Matching the two-tone Chanel, Mary wore the brand's iconic slingbacks during a trip to the Netherlands in June 2022 and completed the Parisian-chic ensemble with a bodycon dress by Beulah.
Princess Diana
Princess Diana often opted for flat shoes for casual occasions, choosing Gucci loafers and suede moccasins. But in the famous honeymoon picture, it was a pair of cream ballet flats from a Chelsea cobbler that stole the show.
Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales pose for a honeymoon photograph on the banks of the River Dee at Balmoral Castle. She's in apartments…
Heavily pregnant with her first child, William, Diana chose black patent leather shoes to meet well-wishers at St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly in April 1982
Forgoing traditional boots, Diana added glamor and elegance to her Bill Pashley tweed suit as she strolled along the River Dee at Balmoral.
Later in April 1982, the Princess added flats to her elegant wardrobe, pairing a pair of Ferragamo patent bow pumps 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 ensures princess perfection with voluminous dresses in vibrant hues.
Crown Princess Victoria visits a charity that promotes sustainable oceans in Stockholm in 2022
However, her everyday wardrobe is more in monochrome minimalism, as seen at the Open Ship event at the Museum of Photography in Stockholm in June 2022.
A pair of two-tone Marzio flats provided the perfect contrast to her Ralph Lauren dress, which was worn under a By Malene Birger blazer.
Princess Charlene of Monaco
Princess Charlene ditched her usual heels and added glamor to the simple flat shoe by opting for a pair of metallic pointed loafers from Jimmy Choo 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 ballerinas and Jacques wave at the cameras
Fast forward to December 2022 and Charlene's festive look once again included flats as she opened Monaco's annual Christmas Village, although this time it was a classic pair of black over-the-knee boots worn under an Akris colour-block 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 high heels. Instead, she paired the tailored dress with Gianvito Rossi leather ballet flats and a Sophie Habsburg clutch.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attends a meeting with the Dutch community on the first day of the Dutch state visit to Greece in 2022. Her ballerinas, like her dress, are Dutch orange
We usually see Maxima in high heels like these – although on this occasion she might have preferred flatter shoes. She is pictured in the Dutch Caribbean last year
In apartments for the beach. Maxima poses with Princess Amalia and King Willem-Alexander in the Dutch Caribbean
When Maxima visited the Caribbean in January 2023 in a flowing Zimmermann dress and turban by Fabienne Delvigne, she once again swapped the Gianvito Rossi shoes she wore for the first time for a more comfortable choice of Salvatore Ferragamo loafers.
In 2017, Queen Maxima was just as stylish in flats and added a pop of color with a blue embroidered Vita-Kin dress, an oversized hat, and matching open-toed denim sandals that perfectly highlighted the accent color of her look.
Duchess of Edinburgh
The Duchess of Edinburgh's style uniform usually includes espadrille wedges and suede pumps, but when she attended celebrations in Norway in 2017, she opted for a pair of scalloped Chloé ballet flats to accessorize her Sportmax coat and printed Prada shirt .
Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, chooses nude apartments for visit to Norway to mark King Harald's 80th birthday
Once again in practical form, this time as global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
That ballet flats can perfectly complement a patterned dress is demonstrated by Nicola Sexton's cream pointed loafers, which added structure to her Etro midi dress during a tour of the Cayman Islands in February 2023, and soft pink suede pumps from The Row in October 2023 matched to the print of her Maxmara shirt dress in Ethiopia.
Queen Camilla
In addition to her favorite block heels, Queen Camilla also turns to Sole Bliss for comfortable flat pumps and reportedly owns 11 pairs in a variety of styles.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attends the South of England Show on June 8, 2017
Camilla was asked to make a shoe print for posterity at St. Michael's Mount and wore comfortable flat shoes
Specializing in stylish but comfortable footwear with a wider toe, hidden stretch panels and three layers of padding to combat problems like bunions, they're perfect for a queen who's on her feet all day meeting the public.
She wore these at the South of England Show in 2017 combined with a blue skirt suit, showing that comfortable shoes can still look chic.
In 2010, she chose a pair of Footglove slippers, equally designed for comfort while taking impressions of her feet for a plaster cast in St. Michaels Mount.
Infanta Sofia
16-year-old Infanta Sofia has resorted to apartments so as not to tower over her older sister Leonor and mother Queen Letizia.
Infanta Sofia is taller than her older sister Leonor, heir to the throne. There is speculation that Sofia wears flat shoes so as not to outshine her sister
In this picture, Leonor is wearing high heels – however, her younger sister is still taller even though she is wearing flat shoes
At 1.70 m, she is already more than five centimeters taller than both of them and therefore regularly wears flat shoes so as not to overshadow her family members.
For her sister Princess Leonor's swearing-in ceremony in October 2023, a pair of LMDI slingbacks complemented the black belt on her cape-sleeved Erdem dress, while a similar style of Massimo Dutti slingback pumps matched the boucle piping of the Sandro dress , which she wore for the Princess of the Asturias Awards.