In our technical age, it's become something of a cardinal rule for public figures to never wear solid green in a public appearance.
Because if you do, your outfit *will* get Photoshopped when internet tricksters use your outfit as a greenscreen on which to insert any image imaginable, turning your ensemble into internet absurdity.
The British Royals learned this the hard several times when the late Queen Elizabeth II wore green to various appearances and almost instantaneously became a meme as the internet Photoshopped everything from cats to pizza onto her clothes.
Or at least, the British Royals should have learned this the hard way. But when it comes to Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, the lesson definitely didn't land, because when she and Prince William visited Boston recently, guess what she wore?
That's right green.
And not just a little bit of green—head to toe green.
\u201cthis outfit choice simply highlights that her stylist doesn\u2019t understand the internet\ud83d\ude2c\u201d— Annie Wu\ud83e\ude73 (@Annie Wu\ud83e\ude73) 1670038518
Now to be fair, Middleton looks absolutely sensational, as always. And the dress was for a good cause.
Middleton wore it to the ceremony for the Earthshot Prize, a yearly $1 million award given to five innovators in the field of environmental science to continue their important work.
Staying on the "green" theme, Middleton leaned into the color, and also rented the dress as a nod to sustainability.
Which is all fantastic. But in the end it was kind of overshadowed by the fact that Middleton basically turned herself into a walking green screen.
And, well, you can probably guess what happened next.
As one viral tweeter mentioned of Kate's dress:
"this outfit choice simply highlights that her stylist doesn’t understand the internet😬"
It took no time at all for the internet to go full-tilt absurd with Princess Kate's ensemble.
\u201c@heyprofbow Just blot with a paper towel for less grease.\u201d— Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1670023798
\u201c@heyprofbow\u201d— Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1670023798
\u201cI actually think it's pretty cool that Kate Middleton wore a white and gold dress to the Earthshot Prize Ceremony.\u201d— Jule Ann Wakeman (@Jule Ann Wakeman) 1670082105
\u201cWhen you realize your dress is a green screen.\ud83d\ude2c\u201d— Jess (@Jess) 1670057285
\u201cThe internet did not hold back #PrinceWilliam #KateMiddleton \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Meghan Is A Global Queen \ud83d\udc51& Empress of the UK (@Meghan Is A Global Queen \ud83d\udc51& Empress of the UK) 1670136070
\u201c@heyprofbow\u201d— Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1670023798
\u201c@heyprofbow How very millennial\u201d— Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Amanda B\ud83e\udd83wer\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1670023798
\u201ctwinsies #noonesbetterthentheoriginal #KateMiddleton #greendress #greenscreen\u201d— Noemi Teixeira (@Noemi Teixeira) 1670165314
Hopefully, Kate will learn from this experience. Although the dearly departed Queen never really seemed to, and it's now arguably a wonderfully light-hearted part of her legacy.
\u201cthe main thing I'll miss about the Queen is when she used to turn up wearing a green screen outfit\u201d— dan hett (@dan hett) 1663570706
So maybe don't worry about it, Princess Kate. On second thought, thanks for the laughs!