Duchess of Cambridge recycles Missoni for royal visit The Duchess appears to share clothes with her family, wearing a blue dress to her first speaking engagement this year, which her mother borrowed from her two years previously. The 30-year-old Duchess was photographed wearing the £139 Reiss dress at The Treehouse children's charity in East Anglia. Carole Middleton, had worn the same outfit at Royal Ascot in 2010. Mrs Middleton wore the same white hat to Ascot that her daughter donned for the van Cutsem wedding. They also shared a lace-trimmed dress. Last year, the Duchess was reported to have refused politely to employ a personal dresser, saying it was a waste of money. Recently sir Roy Strong, the historian, has spoken of the Queen's affection for the Duchess and approval of her much-photographed wardrobe. He has said that the Queen has never been an extravagant person, affectionately calling her a "make-do-and-mend Queen." Writing in a newspaper this weekend, he said that her formative years were shaped by growing up in the shadow of the Second World War and that she had made sacrifices along with her country. He said: "That's something that's stayed with the Queen all her life, and I think that's partly why she likes Kate, who's not afraid to wear the same dress twice."