Princess Kate Is Catching Heat for Overshadowing King Charles at the Chelsea Flower Show This Week

Kate Middleton at the Chelsea Flower Show

(Image credit: Getty)

published 24 May 2023

The Princess of Wales made a big splash at the Chelsea Flower Show this week, attending an annual event long beloved by Her late Majesty, who passed away last September at the age of 96. (Over the course of her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth attended the event a whopping 50 times.)

Kate’s visit was a surprise, and she mostly spent her time onsite with children—which she called the best part of her royal work. Other tidbits we learned from her time there? Her favorite color is green, her son Prince Louis is growing beans at school, that she can’t sign autographs (but she can draw), she plans to prioritize children when she is Queen, and that being a princess means “you have to work hard.”

Kate grabbed so many headlines that it was essentially forgotten that—oh yeah!—King Charles was there, too, alongside wife Queen Camilla. Kate’s visit was a last-minute announcement; the King and Queen’s visit was pre-planned. And, The Mirror reports, Kate is catching heat for overshadowing the King, drawing reminiscent comparisons to Princess Diana, who did the same basically every time she stepped out anywhere, eclipsing her husband (and, later, ex-husband) with persistent regularity.

According to the outlet, “royal insiders are reportedly ‘alarmed’ that the monarch’s first visit to the show since becoming King appeared to be eclipsed by his daughter-in-law Kate.”

Queen Camilla at the Chelsea Flower Show

The King and Queen visited the show later in the day but didn’t get near as much coverage as Kate’s visit did. One royal courtier told The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden of the King’s visit “It’s a shame that his visit with Her Majesty the Queen received less coverage than it might have expected to. I hope they are not too disappointed.”

The Chelsea Flower Show appearance would have been particularly special for the King, not just to honor his late mother, but because “he’s such a keen gardener,” designer Jane Porter says. "He was very knowledgeable about everything in the garden.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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