Kate Middleton made a surprise appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday, May 22nd. But while royal fans were delighted to see the Princess of Wales, 41, attend the event, not everyone felt the same way! According to some reports, King Charles, 74, was not too happy that his daughter-in-law attended the event that he and Queen Camilla, 75, were also at, as she seemed to steal the spotlight from him. A source even reportedly told the Daily Mail that he regularly feels “eclipsed.” Now we get where the rumors about him being worried about her upstaging him at his own coronation came from!
Monday’s event was the first time King Charles attended the show as monarch, which saw him and Queen Camilla present a medal to 70 people in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign, so it was a pretty big deal to him. However, all eyes seemed to be on his daughter-in-law…
The Princess Of Wales Made A Surprise Appearance At The Chelsea Flower Show
The Princess of Wales looked gorgeous when she attended the event, wearing an elegant yet effortless Barbiecore color block silk shirt dress by ME+EM, which she previously wore to meet Hold Still finalist Mila at the Palace of Holyrood House in 2021. Over the pandemic, she actually promised Mila she would wear something in pink when they met as it was her favorite color. Aww! Kate wore pink heels the first time, but for the Chelsea Flower Show, went for more comfortable options, choosing the Castañer Carina wedges in the color 'toasted brown.'
While she was at the show, the Princess of Wales joined a group of children for a picnic lunch and even answered some questions. "I asked her what’s the first thing she is going to do when she becomes queen and she said she is going to help kids," 11-year-old Saron Fikremariam reportedly told The Mirror. Another child asked her what life as a royal was like, and she reportedly said: "You have to work hard."
King Charles has reportedly made no secret of his annoyance over being upstaged over the years, as the late Princess Diana always seemed to pull focus when they attended events together when they were married. Diana: Her True Story biographer Andrew Morton told Insider last year that Diana was usually "the star of the show" at events they attended together, "and it was something that he found very difficult to take." "Now he’s the star of the show. He’s King," Morton added, although now it seems like Princess Kate is doing exactly the same thing!
"With his love of horticulture, His Majesty's appearance at Chelsea was an important engagement," an insider reportedly told the Daily Mail. "It's a shame that his visit with Her Majesty the Queen received less coverage than might have been expected," they continued, in reference to how Princess Kate's appearance stole the show. "I hope they are not too disappointed," they added.
Conflicting Opinions
Despite everything we have heard about King Charles regarding his fear of being upstaged, newer reports have suggested that he doesn’t actually seem to mind now.
"Whilst it is Charles’ head that wears the Crown, it is [Prince] William, Catherine and their children that will steal the limelight," royal expert and Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed author Robert Jobson wrote in an article for the Daily Mail. "They are bound to. And it is right," he continued, adding: "This time, it will be with Charles' blessing — for he knows for monarchy to survive it must be relevant to the younger generation." Hmm… we don’t know what to believe anymore!
Prince Harry Talks About His Father's Fear Of Being Upstaged In 'Spare'
Prince Harry, 38, also touched on this in his best-selling bombshell memoir Spare, which officially hit the shelves in January this year. Although many of his claims in the book have been disputed, we think there may be some truth in what he said about older brother Prince William and sister-in-law Kate being limited with their public appearances so they don't outshine his father and step-mother.
"Pa and Camilla didn't like Willy and Kate drawing attention away from them or their causes. They'd openly scolded Willy about it many times," Harry wrote, before going on to mention the time Kate was scheduled to attend an engagement at a tennis club on the same day King Charles and Camilla were due to make an appearance at another event, and how such clashes were "strictly prohibited."
Harry explained that a "fetching" picture of Kate dressed up at the tennis event would surely ruin Charles and Camilla's chances of grabbing headlines and making the papers' front pages the next day. "That couldn't be tolerated. Told that it was too late to cancel the visit, Pa's press officer warned: 'Just make sure the Duchess doesn't hold a tennis racquet in any of the photos.'"
