She may be the future Queen and able to wear the finest designer clothes, travel in the lap of luxury and shop in some of the world's most high-end stores.

But it appears that the Duchess of Cambridge loves a bargain just as much as the rest of us and seemingly likes to keep a tight rein on her purse strings.

Just yesterday, on a visit to University College London, Kate stepped out in a beautiful monochrome hounds tooth dress, complete with a pussy bow neck.

It wasn't designer though - it was actually from High Street chain Zara and cost just £16. Not only that, it was an old dress, with Kate having worn it during a visit to Bradford last year.

Kate Middleton in a £16 Zara dress on a visit to University College London (
Image:
POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

But it's not the only time that Kate has shown her thriftiness, here we look at how she's seemingly careful with money...

Fan of the High Street

Kate probably has her pick of designer clothes and has occasionally wore pieces from the likes of Alexander McQueen and Jenny Packham - including the glittering gown she wore to the Bond premiere last week.

But more often than not, she is often seen in more affordable garments that can be easily picked up on the High Street.

Kate wore jeans and a T-shirt from the High Street while getting her Covid jab (
Image:
Twitter)
Kate on an official visit to the Isles of Scilly in 2016 wearing trousers from Gap (
Image:
Getty Images)

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Just yesterday she wore a £16 dress from Zara and has also worn other dresses and blazers from the High Street chain.

While receiving her Covid jab in May, she was pictured wearing jeans costing £65 from & Other Stories and a simple white T-shirt from H&M.

And she's also been seen in pieces from ASOS and on a trip to the Isles of Scilly in 2016 wore skinny leg patterned trousers costing just £22 from Gap.

Affordable kids clothes

Prince William and Kate Middleton with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in their 2020 Christmas card (
Image:
Kensington Palace via Getty Imag)

It's not just Kate who sometimes dresses in High Street clothes - her children do too.

In 2014, she was spotted perusing the kids' clothes in the former Gap store near Kensington Palace, where she is said to have picked out some items for a then baby Prince George.

Meanwhile last year, in their Christmas card portrait, George sported a brown Regatta fleece top that was said to have cost just £5.

Similarly, in April, Prince Louis wore a pair of £25 Adidas trainers in his third birthday portrait while Princess Charlotte wore a £10 Zara dress in pictures released to mark her fifth birthday.

Recycling clothes

Kate wears her Penelope Chilvers boots on a visit to County Durham earlier this year (
Image:
PA)

It's all well and good shopping on the High Street - but if you buy a new outfit every time you leave the house, the cost will soon rack up.

But with Kate, there have been countless examples of where she has worn her clothes, time and time again. Even the dress she wore yesterday got an outing on a previous engagement.

And one item in her wardrobe that she's been pictured wearing over and over again is her Penelope Chilvers tassel boots.

Princess Charlotte cradles a newborn Prince Louis (
Image:
PA)
Prince George at Trooping the Colour in 2015

She was first spotted wearing them 17 years ago in 2004 and she most recently wore them on a trip to a farm in County Durham earlier this year.

But it's not just her own clothes that she recycles, her kids have also been seen wearing hand-me-downs.

In 2018, Princess Charlotte was pictured cradling her then newborn brother Prince Louis wearing a cardigan older brother Prince George had worn in the Queen's 90th birthday portrait.

Meanwhile, at Trooping the Colour in 2015, Prince George wore the same outfit his dad Prince William donned at the same event in 1984.

Shopping at The Range

Kate pushes her trolley on a trip to the supermarket (
Image:
Daily Mirror)

Kate probably has access to the world's most high-end stores to do her Christmas shopping.

But just days before Christmas in 2018, she was spotted browsing the aisles of discount store The Range in King’s Lynn close to the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

Teacher Sarah Daniels told how she spotted Kate with George and Charlotte in the arts and craft aisle before they moved on to the toy section, where George apparently showed interest in ‘dinosaur slime’.

Mrs Daniels told the Daily Mail that at one point Charlotte sat on the floor and was told by her mother, dressed casually in jeans, low-heeled boots and a jacket: "Get up, poppet."

And when George asked about the slime, she claims she "didn’t register a response" from the prince’s mother. Maybe slime wasn't within their budget?

Ikea furniture

We are often told that having a stylish home doesn't mean having to spend a tonne of money. And it seems this rings true with Kate.

In 2018, Kate and William revealed that they had some Ikea furniture in their home during a visit to Sweden's national museum of architecture and design in Stockholm in 2018.

Marcus Engman, the company's head of design, said they told him that they had Ikea furniture for Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

"I'm proud that we can suit everybody," he said. "That's what we want Ikea to be - for the many people of the world, both royalty and ordinary people."

Taking her own photos

Prince George pictured for his eighth birthday (
Image:
KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP via Getty)
Princess Charlotte on her sixth birthday (
Image:
Duchess of Cambridge/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Drafting in a professional photographer every time there is a family event would be a costly business.

Luckily for Kate, she is a dab hand with the camera and usually takes gorgeous pictures of her children and the rest of her family herself.

Over the years, she's taken some beautiful portraits of George, Charlotte and Louis on their birthdays, which have delighted royal fans.

Flying on budget airlines

You would think that every time they travel, the royals would do it in the lap of luxury.

But in 2019, Kate along with William, George, Charlotte and Louis were seen boarding a low-cost flight on a budget airline.

The family caught the Flybe economy flight from Norwich to Aberdeen, with their tickets thought to cost around £73.

Video from the day showed George and Charlotte walking onto the tarmac with their dad, who was holding a number of bags, while Kate carried a baby Louis slightly behind.

A fellow passenger told the Mail: "The family were sat right at the front. I fly this route all the time and we were none the wiser."

Sharing takeaways

Kate and Prince William enjoyed fish and chips in Anstruther in Scotland (
Image:
BracknessHouseBedAndBreakfast/Facebook)

No trip to the seaside is complete without treating yourself to some fish and chips.

And that's exactly what Kate did earlier this year, on a visit to the Scottish town of Anstruther.

Kate, as well as William, popped into the Anstruther Fish Bar but they ordered just one £7.95 takeaway haddock supper rather than getting one each.

The takeaway was wrapped in paper, which they shared and ate on a bench on the pier.

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