Melania Trump put on an autumnal display as she met the Princess of Wales at the Home Park, Windsor Castle today.
The Slovenia-born First Lady, 55, dressed appropriately for the UK’s cooler temperatures in a brown belted suede coat on Thursday afternoon.
After sporting somewhat of a divisive yellow dress at yesterday’s glittering banquet, Melania showed her more casual wardrobe as she joined Scouts’ in the wild.
Melania, who is currently enjoying a state visit with her husband, President Donald Trump, completed her outfit with a pair of cream cigarette trousers.
And in an unusual move for the First Lady, who is often seen sporting stilettoes, she donned a pair of brown leather flats.
Melania changed her outfit from earlier this morning, when she wore a leather skirt suit while at the Royal Library with Queen Camilla.
Her hair and makeup was as equally glamorous to before, with her opting for eyeshadow and pink lipstick.
On arrival today, the Princess, who has been joint president of the Scouts with the Duke of Kent since 2020, and the First Lady were met by Dwayne Fields, the Chief Scout.
Melania Trump looked chic in a suede coat as she spent time with the Princess of Wales and the Squirrels at Frogmore Gardens during the US State Visit
Dwayne escorted his guests to meet two groups of Squirrels who were taking part in a variety of activities as they learned about nature.
Kate and Melania enjoyed the opportunity to join the children as they built a bug hotel and tried leaf printing using fallen leaves collected from the gardens.
The Princess and the First Lady then led a badge presentation for the young Squirrels, before hosting a picnic for The Squirrels in the gardens.
It comes after Melania Trump turned heads as she attended a state banquet at Windsor Castle in a yellow, off-the-shoulder gown on Wednesday evening.
As images surfaced of the First Lady standing next to her husband, President Donald Trump, and alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla, people couldn’t help but raise eyebrows at the daring fashion choice.
The floor-length gown left many fashion watchers puzzled, as it appeared vibrant yellow in some photos but a muted butter-yellow in others.
And then there was the issue of the belt: Is it baby pink – or purple? Insiders weighed in to clarify.
A source close to the First Lady revealed to The Royale that the dress, designed by Carolina Herrera, was indeed buttercream yellow with an ‘Easter purple’ belt.
Pictured:The Princess of Wales and First Lady Melania Trump in Frogmore Gardens in Windsor, Berkshire
The confusion surrounding the colour of the gown was likely caused by flash photography or pre-publication Photoshop manipulation.
‘Photographers always play with saturation, curves and contrast in their photos, and I do believe that her dress was tweaked to look a bit bolder than it actually is, judging by the saturation of all of the other colours in the image,’ said New York-based personal stylist Liz Teich.
Teich added that yellow is often associated with optimism – noting that the Princess of Wales also wore a gold lace long sleeve gown, designed by Phillipa Lepley, for the banquet dinner.
‘Perhaps she was seeking something cheerful for this visit, especially as her husband’s mother is from Scotland, where the Royal Family regularly visits, as well as to stand up against the protesters of their visit,’ Teich said.
However, some critics sniped that Melania’s ensemble appeared quite distracting and busy due to her with her bold yellow dress mixing with the lavender belt and her emerald earrings.
‘I find the styling distracting with the addition of a pink belt and emerald chandeliers. There are too many touch-points here, and we should be looking at her first and the dress second,’ said celebrity stylist Samantha Brown, who added that the off-the-shoulder dress was a bold choice to make amidst a sea of gold lace, royal tiaras and stately tuxedos.
It’s also no surprise to fashion experts that butter yellow was one of the most popular trends of the summer season, but between the gloomy English weather and the approaching autumn season, Brown said that the dress ‘feels like a summery choice, and not quite right for the season.
‘Melania typically makes strong, informed wardrobe choices, this dress doesn’t rank with her best looks,’ she added.
This isn’t the first time Melania has divided opinion for her daring fashion choices.
She similarly wore yellow for the couple’s last state dinner in the UK during Trump’s first term in 2018, opting for a pale yellow cape-sleeved gown designed by J. Mendel.
Carolina Herrera has been known to dress several First Ladies over the years. Most notably, Melania wore a black sequined skirt from the Venezuelan-American designer earlier this year during her husband’s inauguration festivities.
She also wore a white Carolina Herrera dress with colourful stripes during a two-day state visit to India in February 2020.
Yesterdayevening’s banquet marks the second time President Trump and the First Lady have traveled to the UK for a state dinner. Their first state visit to the UK was in 2019, when they were hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Earlier that day, Trump was invited by King Charles to walk in front of him during the ceremonial welcome. The US president seemed delighted at the pageantry, and even shared a joke and a laugh with the monarch.
Before the state dinner, Trump also laid a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II – who died in September 2022 – in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The Trumps are scheduled to be in the UK until Thursday, September 18.
