Kate is not wearing a wedding ring:
The first thing to note is that Kate is not wearing a ring. I am aware that blogger Cassandra Morann (Rewatch Blog), and some others, have suggested one reason could be that it was Edwina's ring, however, I think this takes a very western view of how Kate would behave after marriage, and shows a lack of understanding of the character of Kate. If there was one thing we learned about Kate it was that her culture and heritage are an integral part of who she is, and I don't think this is something that will be forgotten going into Season 3.
In doing some research I discovered that rings are not necessarily an accessory married women from India would wear, and especially not in the early 19th Century, what I discovered is that bangles are a more significant piece of jewellery, both in the marriage ceremony and after the ceremony. We saw in Season 2 the significance of Kate's mother's bangles, and I believe that this is a tradition Kate will stay with, as such I believe that instead of wearing a ring Kate will symbolise her marriage in public with the wearing of bangles, and I think the picture of her hugging Colin shows this. We can see that Kate is wearing a thick, wide, gold bangle on her left wrist (I can't tell if she is also wearing one on her right wrist as well), I believe that this could potentially be a traditional bangle that she is wearing to symbolise her status as a married lady, and the bangle being gold symbolises fortune and prosperity.
Kate's Hair Adornment:
I have seen some suggestion from both Cat Quinn and Cassandra Morann that Kate has butterflies in her hair as a 'sweet nod' to Penelope being the lead for this season, however, I don't think this is correct. To me it also makes no sense, no female character wore anything as a 'sweet nod' to Kate being the lead in Season 2, nor did they for Daphne in Season 1, so why would any main female character wear something as a 'sweet nod' to the Season 3 lead? Especially when the characters in question never interacted in Season 2.
I believe that Kate is wearing adornments that invoke the idea of a Laurel Wreath in her hair, not to dissimilar to what the ancient Romans and Greeks wore. Whether the wreath is meant to represent the bay laurel leaf or the strawberry leaf is up for debate, however, I see this as the most likely hair adornment for Kate due to the symbolism.
The Strawberry Leaves could be a call to her position as Viscountess. Traditionally many in the peerage would wear coronets with representation of strawberry leaves for a coronation, and whilst this is not a coronation and technically a Viscount would not have Strawberry Leaves on his coronet, this could be a nod to that aspect of English tradition. However, I think it is more likely to be a representation of bay laurel leaves, something which I think has more symbolism for the character of Kate.
Wreaths were a sign of victory, and for Kate she has gained a victory of sorts in making her own decision and finally living her life for herself, but more interesting is the meaning behind the laurel. Laurel reminds us to reclaim our voice and our wisdom as we rebalance our lives, and this very much fits with Kate's arc. As we enter Season 3 of Bridgerton Kate is reclaiming her voice, and also she is working to rebalance her life away from her half sister and stepmother, and with her new family and role in life. Roman Emperors wore laurel wreaths in order to show their status and importance, for Kate this could be representative of her new status and importance within the Bridgeton family.
Whilst I believe that her hair adornment is most likely representative of a laurel wreath, there is one further possibility to consider, and that is that it is meant to represent the lotus flower - the traditional flower of India. This would be a further connection of Kate to her heritage, something that began in Season 2 with small nods to her Indian heritage, and it would be something that would be nice to see carried on for Season 3.
Is Kate presenting or being presented?
In the first photos seen of Kate in Season 3 we can clearly see that this is for Francesca's presentation at court, as we see Francesca dressed in a court dress with feathers. Kate is dressed in Gold and Cream, and there are two possibilities for this.
- Kate is the one presenting Francesca, as Violet did with Daphne and Eloise. This would call back to Season 2 when Anthony told his mother that the woman he married would be responsible for launching his sisters into society, and as the presentation is the official 'launch' for a young lady this makes sense.
- Kate is being presented as the Viscountess by Anthony. This could be a solid theory, though the reasoning I have seen for it is weak. This theory put forward by Cassandra Morann on her Rewatch Blog is reasoned due to the way that Anthony is dressed in his more formal Court Dress. However, in both Season 1 and Season 2 during the presentation scenes we did see some men dressed in more formal Court Dress (similar to what Anthony is wearing in the photo leaks), so using Anthony's dress as a basis for this theory presents a weak argument in my opinion.
Based on Violet's dress we would have to conclude that if Kate is being presented by Anthony, then Anthony is also presenting Francesca as Violet does not appear to be dressed for a presentation, as she was in Season 1 and Season 2. It is looking at Violet's dress that I believe the most likely scenario is the first, and Kate will be presenting Francesca. It is possible that Kate will have been formally presented either just before, or just after, their marriage, as presentations were not limited to the beginning of the Social Season.
Kate's overall look:
The first thing to notice is Kate's look is much softer than in Season 2. As these pictures are obviously for Francesca's presentation it is hard to know what her colour scheme will be for the rest of the season, however, the cream and the gold in these pictures add to her overall glow.
We won't know for certain about the details until Season 3 comes out, but my overall feel is that this first look really shows Kate as the Viscountess, and coming into her own. For Season 3 she will be happy and in love, and this look projects that to the viewers.
I cannot wait to see her overall look, and hope that they continue with this softer look for her as I think it really suits her.
