25 Times Kate Middleton Got on Camilla Parker Bowles' Nerves

Camilla and Kate's relationship reportedly got off to a rough start. Game of Crowns author Christopher Andersen claimed that Camilla tried to break up Kate and Prince William because she didn't like how Kate was "pretty but dim" and came from a "lowly" background. We sure hope that isn't true!

Throughout this list, you'll notice that when pictured together, Kate and Camilla are rarely talking to one another. And that may very well be because they don't have a whole lot in common. Reportedly, Camilla has a hard time connecting with Kate because they don't share hobbies or interests. "I'd heard that Camilla wasn't very keen on Catherine," royal expert Tom Quinn said. "She didn't shoot, she wasn't very interested in horses particularly."

At the Order of the Garter Service in 2019, Camilla seemed pretty peeved that Kate was seemingly ignoring her. Kate talked right over Camilla in an animated discussion with Queen Letizia of Spain. And whatever they were chatting about, Camilla apparently couldn't really interject. It must not have been a convo about shooting or horses, her two fave things.

Kate is smiling here, but maybe through the pain. It almost looks like Camilla is reminding Kate to walk a little more behind her. Technically, Camilla outranks Kate and should always be allowed to proceed first. Kate got a little too close at this event, and maybe she needed to be reminded of her place?

Camilla seems less than thrilled that Kate's youngsters are treating their grandfather Prince Charles like a human jungle gym. She might be thinking, "Why is Kate just letting Louis stab my husband in the eye? What kind of parenting is that?" To make matters worse, Kate is laughing like the whole thing is so funny.

Neither woman looked particularly thrilled to be sitting next to one another at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2018 wedding. The annoyance seemed to go both ways, with Kate even seemingly giving Camilla a little side-eye. Kate telling Camilla to keep it in check? We can't imagine Camilla appreciated that.

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Camilla had to lean all the way around Kate to talk to Meghan at the 2018 Trooping the Colour. How rude! Couldn't the Duchess of Cambridge see that she was in the Duchess of Cornwall's way? Maybe she knew and she just didn't care. It doesn't help that Camilla is shorter than Kate, so Kate is nearly always blocking her view.

At the 2018 Remembrance Day event, you could practically feel the tension between Camilla and Kate — even through the photographs! We have no idea what's going on, but they're both glaring at each other in a particularly frosty way. Even having Queen Elizabeth as a buffer between them didn't seem to help.

Camilla may have just loved the required social distancing at the 2020 Remembrance Day event. No talking (or even pretending to talk) to Kate, and Camilla got all the space she needed. The two women kept to themselves, just singing when necessary and minding their own business.

At a June 2021 function, the Queen had to cut a ceremonial cake, and she was struggling with the large sword. Camilla quickly stepped in to help, but Kate just stood there giggling. Camilla seemed annoyed that her fellow royal wasn't jumping in to assist the Queen with this tricky task.

Sure, the two royal ladies are laughing here, but what are they really thinking about? The laughs could be forced, as maybe Camilla is just ready to get out of the carriage and on with her day. This is just one of the many times she's had to ride with the Duchess of Cambridge, and Camilla seems less than thrilled as usual.

Camilla couldn't be farther away from Kate on this balcony, and perhaps that was intentional. Everyone needs a break once in a while, and considering the strange start to their relationship, we wouldn't be surprised if these two weren't the complete best of buds. They don't need to be BFFs, though. They have plenty of other family members to hang out with.

Kate took to awkwardly playing with her hair during this outing, because she's basically being totally ignored by Camilla. Conveniently, Charles was there to hang with his wife, but the Duchess of Cambridge didn't really have a pal to chitchat with. And Camilla was keeping extra quiet, it seems.

Speaking of making idle chitchat, there didn't seem to be any of that going on at this event either. Kate looks kind of uncomfortable, and Camilla is just grimacing her way through as she stands next to Kate Middleton. Even the Queen looked totally dissatisfied with what was happening. They basically can't wait to get away from one another.

Camilla appears to be giving Kate the silent treatment here. And she can't even use the type of event as an excuse. Sure, this is Remembrance Day, which is typically a solemn day for the royals, but we've seen Kate giggling with Sophie Wessex at the same outing. So this is really just a Camilla/Kate problem.

Another day, another awkward royal carriage journey. This must have been the longest ride in history for Kate to look that miserable. And the Duchess of Cornwall could barely muster a smirk at passersby. Why do the royals keep putting these two women together at these events? It certainly seems like they maybe want a break.

Prince George just had to have a meltdown with Charles and Camilla looking on. Doesn't it feel like that happens every single time when our in-laws are around? Kate probably felt pretty embarrassed, and Camilla is beaming — so maybe she was enjoying watching Kate struggle? OK, that's probably a bit of a reach, but still, no parent wants their child to throw a tantrum while people are watching.

Kate and Camilla often share a carriage. They're stuck together. And they don't seem to like it. The Duchess of Cambridge honestly looks just as annoyed here as Camilla, so there's perhaps no winning on either side when these two are made to sit together. Can we get a royal seating chart rearrangement, please?

Welp, this is a familiar sight. Kate and Camilla never seem to speak to one another when on these long carriage rides. That, or maybe the press is just really bad at taking photos of them being nice to each other. Anyway, it's too bad Kate can't take like an Uber or something to avoid this at the next royal outing.

As the royals walked into this event in order of importance (literally), Kate had to trail behind Camilla, who outranks her. If anything, Kate should be annoyed at Camilla for blocking her view and always getting to go first. But Camilla looks like she's just thinking in her head, "Don't seat me next to Kate again. We have nothing to talk about. Not even horses."

The two royal women had a bit of a buffer when William attended this outing with them. But we can't help but notice that Camilla seemed very insistent on telling William something as Kate looked on. Surely Camilla's not informing William of any negative opinions she may have of his wife?

As the ladies stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony, they did give chatting a chance for once. But even Camilla's attempt at small talk with Kate looked forced. Kate seems to be cringing and nervously playing with her hair, while the best Camilla could muster was some sort of, "Oh, look over there," kind of chitchat.

The ladies seem to be having that classic debate of who should leave a function through the doors first. "You go first." "No, you go first." Perhaps they both want to be last to leave the balcony so they look more important to the people watching below? Too bad we'll never know who won this potential argument.

The grimace on Camilla's face during Kate and William's wedding seems to say it all. Perhaps she's wondering why her wedding to Charles wasn't this big of a deal. (Um, that would be because of all the rumored cheating.) Also, we see the Duchess of Cornwall wearing a nearly white dress. Didn't anyone tell her that only Kate and her sister Pippa were going to be in that color that day?

After Kate gave birth to George, the whole family turned up to see her in the hospital. But Camilla seems like she's thinking, "Why am I here?" After all, George isn't her blood relation. Maybe she got pulled out of an important function to go to the hospital at the last minute, and she's annoyed about it.