Kate & William purposely matched outfits during their first joint outing post-lockdown – and there’s a sweet reason why

Unless you’ve been hiding under a particularly thick and cosy doona, you might have noticed there’s been a certain trending colour in the fashion mix this year – and it’s not by accident.

The colour blue seems to be left, right and centre these days – particularly when looking to our UK pals in the Northern Hemisphere, many of whom seem to have taken a liking to the hue more than ever before.

Duchess Catherine and Prince William are at the forefront – as members of the royal family, setting the fashion agenda is part and parcel, so we weren’t surprised to see them don shades of blue in their first joint appearance post-lockdown.

But perhaps more interesting than the blue garb itself is the reason why it’s trending in the first place.

It’s been a full three months since we’ve had any glimpse of the Duchess and Prince together before this week.

So naturally, all eyes were on them when they both stepped out together to share their thanks for NHS frontline workers with a colourful afternoon tea on Sunday afternoon.

As soon as the pictures surfaced from the event, our eyeballs went straight to see what Kate was wearing.

Ever the fashion muse, the 38-year-old’s ensembles are always a sight to behold – and her collared Beulah London dress didn’t fail to disappoint.

Of course, whenever Kate’s about, all eyes are usually a little skewed towards her (for obvious reasons – fashion anyone?), but this time around, there was something else about Will that caught our attention.

The royal dad-of-three appeared to be more coordinated with his wife Kate than ever before – wearing a blue-hued sports jacket along with a blue tie and shirt.

And nope, it appears that these two weren’t going down the route of couple dressing just for a laugh – in fact, it seems this colour coordination was actually for a very specific reason.

Blue, as it happens, is the official trademark colour of the NHS – and given the royals were there to support the frontline workers who belong to the organisation, their attire appeared to be an additional nod in support of their work.

This certainly isn’t the first time the royals have donned the colour in support of the NHS.

Earlier in lockdown, the regal family took part in a video call to celebrate International Nurses Day, where a number of them wore blue outfits, again as a subtle show of solidarity with the trademark colour.

Duchess Catherine’s various video calls throughout lockdown have also featured blue outfits left, right and centre.

There was her blue Altuzarra dress, her zig zag blue Tabatha Webb jumper and that beautiful floral blue dress from Boden.

Blue is most certainly the new black where these royals are concerned.

And finally, perhaps the best blue spectacle of all came during Cambridge family’s unexpected appearance on BBC’s Big Night In in May, where the family joined in clapping for NHS workers and carers across the country who were working tirelessly behind the scenes amidst the pandemic.

Kate wore a gorgeous blue Ghost dress, while her three children were seen wearing shades of blue themselves.

Wills pulled up the ranks in a blue jumper and shirt.

It’s always been well known that the royals choose their outfits very wisely, with hidden meanings and tributes rife between them.

But this blue-clad display is one that might just be our favourite yet.

All power to those working on the front line, indeed.