The Met Gala might be the most glamorous night of the year—the first Monday in May always brings a certain prestige, with the biggest names in fashion, culture, and celebrity gracing the elaborate staircase—but there is one name that remains off the guest list year after year, despite Anna Wintour’s best efforts. Inside sources say that the Princess of Wales is Wintour’s dream guest for the annual charity gala, but Princess Kate has “no interest” in attending the dazzling event.
“Kate is the one celebrity Anna wants and cannot get,” an insider told gossip columnist Rob Shuter. The Princess of Wales “is the obsession” for the iconic Vogue editor, who co-chairs and leads in planning the annual event. Although Princess Kate and Dame Anna Wintour have met previously at a palace event in 2018, the princess has consistently declines Wintour's requests for her to attend The Met Gala. While the event isn’t strictly off the cards for members of the Royal Family—Princess Beatrice attended in 2018 and the late Princess Diana attended in 1996—Princess Kate keeps declining the invitation year after year.
“Anna wanted Kate because Kate is the ultimate prize,” an inside source told Shuter, but said that Princess Kate “was never going to turn herself—or Diana—into a Met Gala moment.” The Princess of Wales didn’t want to attend the event, but the promise of comparisons to her late mother-in-law may have been even more off-putting. “This was never only about Diana,” a close source clarifies, but there would be no escaping the side-by-side photos.
Sources revealed to Shuter that Anna Wintour was so optimistic about the Princess of Wales attending the event, she even “sought quiet help from King Charles and Queen Camilla, hoping palace encouragement might succeed where fashion’s most powerful woman had failed.” Anna Wintour recently met with Queen Camilla in February, and again last week on The King and Queen’s State Visit to New York.
Despite seeking encouragement from The King and Queen, Princess Kate still declined, realizing that her attendance would be something much greater than just a charity donation, or a photo opportunity. “Kate understood exactly what was being asked,” a palace source said. “This was not simply an invitation. It was an attempt to make her the defining image of the night—and she had no interest in playing that role.”
