Catherine's Celtic knot braid steals show on surprise Belfast visit
The Princess of Wales gave royal-watchers a new talking point in Belfast on Friday, Oct. 9. She arrived with the Prince of Wales for a surprise day of Homewards engagements wearing her hair in a half-updo finished with a Celtic knot braid. The style mixed a plaited knot at the back of the head with tumbling loose waves.
It was a rainy day in Northern Ireland. The couple, who are known as Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus when in Northern Ireland, stopped at The Commons community project and an IKEA store. The Commons is a project to turn a church on Ormeau Road into a community centre.
At the engagements they met employers, frontline organisations and young people involved in the New Employment Opportunities Network (NEON), according to BBC News. The Belfast outing was the first time Princess Catherine, 44, had joined Prince William, 44, on a Homewards engagement, according to Hello Magazine. The visit itself had not been announced in advance.
Catherine dressed for the host region in green. She wore a green tartan skirt by Emilia Wickstead with a matching Mulberry top-handle bag.
Her hair drew the most attention. Hello Magazine reported that both the green colour and the Celtic knot hairstyle were nods to Ireland and the host region. Celtic knots are infinite looped knots with no distinct start or end. They can carry meanings including eternity and the cycle of life and death.
What makes this stand out is how often Catherine uses clothes and hair to greet a place. For fans, this was an easy one to read. Green for Ireland. A knot with deep roots in Irish art for Belfast.
She has done it before. She wore a braided updo for the Irish Guards' St. Patrick's Day Parade in March, according to People. Born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, she married Prince William at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011.
