4 Times Princess Kate Seemingly Upstaged Queen Camilla

Being the Queen usually comes with a safe bet that when she walks into a royal event, she will be the centre of attention. Queen Camilla might have a similar expectation, but Princess Kate's commanding presence often steals the spotlight. There have been several occasions when the Princess of Wales arrived and simply left people talking about her instead. And on a few of those occasions, that attention seemed to come at Camilla’s expense.

Kate managed to steal some of the attention from Queen Camilla at Donald Trump’s state banquet at Windsor Castle in September 2025, and Trump himself may have helped her do it. At the banquet dinner hosted by King Charles and Camilla, when Trump thanked the “very, very special Queen” in his speech, he looked at Kate instead of Camilla. That small detail caught the attention of royal watchers. Some questioned whether Trump was simply confused, while others wondered if his gaze towards Kate was a nod to the future Queen.

Melania Trump is known for her fairly reserved nature, so her relaxed interaction with Kate during her 2025 UK visit stood out. The two appeared to hit it off as they chatted during the Windsor welcome, and body language expert Judi James pointed out to the Daily Mail, saying, “Kate's energy and her enthusiastic gesticulation seemed to tune with Melania, who turned her head away from Camilla to talk.” However, Camilla made a hand gesture to Kate that prompted her to move along. The Princess of Wales had found herself in a similar situation years earlier with Spain’s Queen Letizia. James described to The Express, “While the two younger royals seemed to get on like a house on fire, Camilla was seen lurking in the background with no one to talk to.”

Kate was also the centre of attention during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit in November 2023, when she turned up in a vivid red Catherine Walker cape and matching Jane Taylor hat for the formal welcome. The color was seen as a nod to the South Korean flag, while her sapphire-and-diamond earrings had previously belonged to Princess Diana. But it was the evening banquet that really put Kate and Camilla side by side. Kate wore the Queen Mother’s Strathmore Rose Tiara that had not been worn since the 1930s, while Camilla debuted the Burmese Ruby Tiara with a red velvet gown. Camilla’s look was meant to be a major fashion moment, but royal fashion expert Bethan Holt told PEOPLE, “That was Camilla’s big fashion moment in the evening, although obviously everyone was talking about Kate’s tiara, so that did take away from it a little bit.”

Kate’s surprise appearance at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show ended up causing a bit of a headache not just for Camilla but also for King Charles. She visited the show earlier in the day, chatting with schoolchildren and Chelsea Pensioners, and the coverage quickly shifted towards her. By the time Charles and Camilla arrived later, Kate had already made the front pages of several newspapers. A palace source told Daily Mail’s Richard Eden, “It's a shame that his visit with Her Majesty the Queen received less coverage than might have been expected. I hope they are not too disappointed.”