Against All Best Intentions, Kate Middleton Gets the Spotlight on Pippa's Wedding Day

Michelle Ruiz
Updated
Despite the Duchess’s best attempts to the contrary, it was probably inevitable.

Photo: Getty.

Officially, the Duchess of Cambridge (the artist formerly known as Kate Middleton) did not serve as maid of honor in her sister Pippa Middleton (now Matthews’) epic English countryside wedding because, as British tradition dictates, married women are not typically asked to be part of the wedding party. (Hence, why gaggles of adorable children—looking at you Grace van Custsem—are often British bridesmaids.) Unofficially, though, the royal pundit class has speculated that there’s another, juicier reason: Princess Kate knows she is an utterly fabulous international sensation, and didn’t want to distract from the bride.

“If your sister is a future Queen, she is going to upstage the bride and draw attention,” “veteran royal author” Judy Wade noted before Pippa’s nuptials. “Kate would want to be in the background as much as possible.”

Alas, despite her reported attempt to the contrary, Kate did indeed steal the spotlight at Pippa’s wedding—at least if People magazine is any indication. Released on Instagram this morning, the magazine’s latest cover trumpets, “A Royal Family Wedding! Exclusive Details from Pippa’s Big Day” across a giant, radiant photo… of Kate. The bride—oh right, the bride!—stunning as she was in her Giles Deacon creation, is treated as an afterthought, pictured only at the inset alongside darling shots of pageboy Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Awkward much?

Still, it’s doubtful Pippa’s offended, or really even surprised. After all, she is the original wedding spotlight-stealer. And Kate can’t be entirely blamed for causing a stir, when, really, her kids were the ultimate upstagers. If Pippa decided to outfit Prince George in Little Lord Fauntleroy knickers while the international media was watching, all bets were off.

This story originally appeared on Vogue.

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