Kate Middleton's blazer sells out within hours - despite Royal's passionate plea after return to public duties

A blazer worn by the Princess of Wales during an engagement to the National Portrait Gallery this week sold out within hours - despite her wish to divert focus from her outfits. Kate, 43, had joined pupils from the All Souls CE Primary School in Marylebone for the trip, even getting the bus with the children. The mother-of-three was dressed in the £1,163 Petar Petrov 'The Founder' jacket in chocolate over a black high-necked wool jumper, as well as £220 pinstripe Jigsaw trousers.

The item, which was a new purchase for the princess from the Fall Winter 2024 collection, sold out in mere hours, with fans hoping to recreate Kate's stylish look at home - in what is often dubbed the 'Kate effect'. A spokesperson for designer Petar Petrov has since confirmed to FEMAIL they'd seen an increased interest in the product since her outing earlier this week, leading them to restock it in selected sizes.

This is despite Kate's recent plea to royal fans to focus on her work rather than her stylish dresses after her cancer diagnosis gave her a 'new perspective'. Royal fans even took to social media to gush about Kate's continued status as a 'fashion icon'. One person wrote: 'The Kate effect just gets stronger with time!'. A blazer worn by the Princess of Wales on an engagement to the National Portrait Gallery this week sold out within hours.

Another noted that it hadn't even taken 'two hours' for it to sell out. Since Kate wed Prince William in April 2011, Kensington Palace has regularly shared details of garments she wears to public events to select members of the press. But upon the royal's gradual return to work after the Princess announced she had completed a preventative course of chemotherapy last September - this will end. As the Princess makes her diligently calibrated return to her duties, a palace source has that the royal wants ensure the focus remains on the 'issues, people. and the causes she is spotlighting', rather than her clothing.

There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing,' a palace source told The Sunday Times. 'There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. 'But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there but it's about the substance.'. The media's long time fascination with Kate's style instead of the causes she brings attention to has continue to irritate the mother-of-three over the years.

Petar Petrov confirmed to FEMAIL that they saw an increased interest in the blazer leading it to sell out. Kate, 43, had joined pupils from the All Souls CE Primary School in Marylebone for the trip, even getting the bus with the children. A close friend of the Princess of Wales revealed that Kate understood whether she was attending a film premiere or Trooping of the Colour she would have to wear 'a uniform'.

But they explained it was 'enormously difficult' for the royal for the central focus to be her clothes, particularly when she first began her royal duties. They told the publication: '[She] was she was going out and doing the work she was interested in and was hugely important to her, and people just talked about what she was wearing.'. It is understood that Kensington Palace may issue details of Kate's outfits on the most important occasions but not for other public duties.

Although there will be a change in policy for releasing details about Kate's outfits, it is expected that designers she wears will still sky-rocket in sales when she sports their clothing. This trend has been dubbed by designers as the 'Kate Effect'. No details of the Princess's outfits on her previous two engagements in South Wales, where she visited Corgi, a family run textiles company, were released to the press.

The Princess of Wales' long time personal assistant Natasha Archer works with the royal to pick out her outfits for public occasions. Kate also wore her Sézane Bruna Earrings and her Halcyon Days Salamander Torque Forget-Me-Not & Gold Bangle - believed to be a gift from Prince William. Kate Middleton, 43, arrived to launch an 'interactive trail' to support social and emotional development in under fives at the London Gallery.

Kate and children from All Souls CE Primary School in Marylebone then spend time exploring how faces can express feelings and emotions. All aboard! Kate rode to the gallery on the school bus with a group of children from a Marylebone primary. Kate is seen walking into the gallery hand-in-hand with little Grace, five. On Tuesday, the Princess of Wales arrived at the National Portrait Galleryhand-in-hand with a five-year-old girl after riding next to her on the bus.