Kate Middleton Just Debuted Her Lightest Hair Color Yet

She is as known for her long, distinctly brunette waves as she is for her eternal love of Catherine Walker coat dresses, but in yet another one of 2020's surprising plot twists, Kate Middleton has dyed her hair kind of... blonde. Her latest @KensingtonRoyal cameo shows the duchess in a lighter-than-ever golden shade or, more specifically, bronde.

Royal sightings have been few and far between this past year, but this one comes after a string of publicity surrounding UK Remembrance Week. In light of it, the @KensingtonRoyal Instagram account has been issuing brief-but-welcome glimpses of the beloved British royals, and its most recent video — in which Middleton thanks participants of the Hold Still lockdown photography project she launched with the National Portrait Gallery in May — revealed a particularly noteworthy hair change.

In certain lighting, it looks as though the duchess has finally, ~officially~ gone blonde. Indeed, she has edged into this territory before — in 2012, 2013, 2019, and again earlier this year — but she seemed to have returned to her signature dark brown in time for Nov. 8's events at The Cenotaph, nonetheless. Her new shade — debuted via sleek blowout, per her usual style — overtakes all past encounters with caramel, honey, and blonde highlights.

An indication that she — like countless other quarantiners — has simply grown tired of her usual aesthetic, the duchess has not only been trialing lighter shades but also more casual styles throughout the months of isolation. With the exception of one intricate Remembrance Sunday updo, her lengths have mostly been left down in low-maintenance waves. No fancy buns or braids. No fascinators.

Although she probably doesn't know it, Middleton is joined in the bronde camp by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, and Kaia Gerber. Together, they make a convincing case for going lighter ahead of winter — besides, isn't the mere thought of winter dark enough?