How Kate Middleton allowed Camilla to shine as Queen Consort during first State Visit since taking on new titles

Kate Middleton could possibly have allowed Camilla to shine as Queen Consort during the first state visit to take place since they took on their new titles. 

• The Princess of Wales’ maroon outfit for welcoming South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has been analyzed by a body language expert.
• He has claimed that opting not to wear “vibrant red or blue” showed she was trying to not “put herself in the spotlight”, and Queen Camilla did wear this regal shade.  
• This royal news comes as the special reason Kate, Camilla, and Sophie all wore the same brooches at the State Banquet was revealed. 

For the first time since becoming Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton helped to welcome South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the UK and to host a State Banquet on November 22. Joining Prince William and the King and Queen Consort for these major occasions,  Kate Middleton wore a fuchsia Emilia Wickstead dress and paired it with a classic Mulberry bag and heels in a blackberry shade for the welcoming ceremony. Given Kate Middleton’s dresses are always showstoppers it’s perhaps no surprise her look was what regal dreams are made of. 

Now an expert has claimed that the Princess of Wales’ outfit suggests a heart-warming intention. And it could be seen as Kate Middleton trying to make sure Queen Camilla shone on this important day. 

Speaking on behalf of Slingo, body language expert Darren Stanton suggested that the tone of her dress indicated a desire to not “put herself in the spotlight”. 

“We also see Kate adopting a more plum or maroon color dress, which is still proportionate to her position as future queen and senior member of the royal family,” he said. “However, it is not an overpowering color like a vibrant red or blue and she is not attempting to put herself in the spotlight.”

Purple has long been a shade associated with royalty though it is more subtle  compared to the bright blue and red outfits the Princess of Wales has worn recently. The Royal Family wears blue often, but for this recent welcoming ceremony and the State Banquet in the evening, it was Queen Camilla who wore this popular color. 

In the morning the Queen Consort stepped out in a vibrant royal blue coat and hat and at the Buckingham Palace banquet she wowed in a gown in a very similar tone.

Queen Camilla accentuated the sapphire-colored dress with genuine sapphires in the form of a mesmerizing necklace that was a wedding present to the late Queen, as well as a matching tiara. In contrast, the Princess of Wales wore a white gown.

In light of Darren’s claim that Kate avoided blue to not put “herself in the spotlight” it’s perhaps natural to consider her choice as a way of showing respect to President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, both her plum and white gowns could also potentially be seen as a similar sign of respect to her stepmother-in-law.

As the Queen Consort of King Charles III, Camilla is the most senior royal woman in the immediate and extended Royal Family. It’s possible that with her plum dress and later with her white one, the Princess of Wales was - as Darren suggested - “not attempting to put herself in the spotlight”.

Although there could be plenty of reasons for Kate Middleton's choice it could perhaps have been a way of trying to make sure that the Queen shone when she wore her bold blue outfits.