Kate Middleton's 20-inch hair is giving major Victoria's Secret Angel energy

There's no doubt about it: the Princess of Wales' full mane of cascading curls has always been her crowning glory. The royal has always embraced lengthy tresses, and lately, they appear even longer.

Last week, the mother of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis appeared in a series of stunning new portraits to mark her collaboration with the Royal Centre for Early Childhood. In photographs taken by royal photographer Josh Shinner in Cornwall, Catherine looked joyful as she posed surrounded by countryside. 

Alongside her outfit, which featured a ME+EM Fair Isle jumper and Missoma earrings, the 44-year-old sported a mane of flowing curls, and what's more, it looked as if it had grown. Michael Gray, multi-award-winning hairstylist, estimates that Kate's hair spans 20 inches long and her secret is regular cuts.

"When growing hair, I think a lot of people still forget you still need to have a haircut in the process for it to still be lovely, long and healthy," he notes. "Mini trims every eight weeks. [It's important to] take off the very ends to maintain your hair's health," he explains. 

A royal take on the Victoria's Secret Angel hair

Catherine's latest look has a certain Victoria's Secret look about it. At the brand's 2026 fashion show on Sunday evening, the Angels sashayed down the runway with their hair curled just like Catherine's. 

Alessandra Ambrosio in particular embraced the iconic look ahead of her catwalk moment. Dimitris Giannetos, stylist to the stars, tended to her hair and explained how he created her beautiful bouncy curls. 

Calling the full, sumptuous look "Veronica Lake meets the Bronde Victoria’s Secret bombshell," the hair professional quipped: "I brought old Hollywood glamour into a modern angel moment. The hair is glamorous and voluminous but airy and touchable. On towel-dried hair, I applied 'L’Oreal Paris Elvive Big Hair Mousse' for body, then did a round brush blow-dry," Amal Cooney's stylist explained.

Interestingly, Catherine's blow-dry is created with a round brush. Back in 2018, the then Duchess of Cambridge embarked on a four-day visit to Sweden and Norway. Ahead of the tour, her hairdresser, Amanda Cook, shared a picture of the royal's beauty bag on social media, and it was brimming with hair tools, including eight round blow-dry hairbrushes and five paddle brushes, as well as seven combs.