What was meant to be a celebration of British craftsmanship quickly turned into a viral royal debate after Princess Catherine’s latest outing.
The Princess of Wales spent the day visiting British textile makers, including Marina Mill in Kent, where she rolled up her sleeves to take part in the intricate process of screen printing. Wearing a simple black apron and her signature smile, Catherine tied her hair into a low bun before joining craftsmen at the loom. The footage was meant to highlight the artistry of hand-printing fabric — yet it was her hair that stole the spotlight.
Online, the simple act of twisting her locks into a bun reignited speculation about whether the princess had been wearing a wig. Comments flooded social media, with some insisting the clip proved her hair was real, while others claimed extensions or wigs were still possible. “She’s like: ‘see, it’s my real hair,’ no wig here!” joked one commenter, while another countered: “You can still do this with extensions.”
Amid the chatter, fans also poured in praise. One admirer wrote: “She’s the charm and grace. She will be a fantastic queen one day.” Another added, “She’s perfect in every way.”
The hair drama comes on the heels of another widely discussed appearance just days earlier. On September 8, Catherine joined Prince William in Sunningdale for an event marking the three-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. There, her brunette waves — darker than they had appeared weeks before — prompted more speculation. Was she returning to her signature shade, or was the blonde simply a faded toner?
Some insisted it was a deliberate shift back, while others suggested the earlier blonde look might have been a wig altogether. “If you look closely at her hairline, this is her natural hair,” one person wrote. “Curious why she chose to wear the blonde wig for the other outing.”
Whatever the truth, Catherine remained focused on the purpose of her visits. At Sudbury Silk Mills and Marina Mill, she spoke with artisans, admired hand-drawn floral designs, and celebrated the talent behind Britain’s textile industry. In a video shared to her official Instagram, the princess captioned the montage: “Celebrating creativity, skills and community in Suffolk and Kent. From weaving to hand-printing, a pleasure to see the joy of craftsmanship at the heart of the British textiles industry.”
But online, the artistry of fabric was secondary. Once again, Catherine’s hair — whether brunette or blonde, bun or waves, wig or not — became the story.