35 Times Kate Middleton Wasn't Camera-Ready

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended horse races at the Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey, England, in 2011, but Kate almost immediately looked like she was ready to head home for the day. Perhaps she is just not that big of a horse fan, unlike Prince William's cousin Zara Tindall, who is an Olympic equestrian. Kate only started learning how to ride in 2018, and we have yet to spot her on one of the beautiful beasts.

Kate was clearly not thrilled that photographers caught her and youngest son Prince Louis on camera when she attended Prince William's charity polo game in 2019. Kate frequently takes the kids along to William's polo matches. She plunks down on a picnic spot on the huge lawn and watches the kids as they roll around and chase each other (and she often joins in!). It's a great opportunity for the family to get some fresh air, but of course, that also means facing the long lenses of photographers.

This photo was snapped at the 2019 Wimbledon tournament amid rumors that Kate and Meghan Markle were feuding. This photo added to the speculation that the two weren't getting along, as Kate seemed to be staring daggers at Meghan. But the two duchesses just have very different lives, trajectories, and backgrounds, so it's OK if they were never BFFs.

When the duchess visited the America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth, England, she gave off a vibe like this outing was the last place she wanted to be. Perhaps those skinny jeans were making her uncomfortable? Or maybe she was in early pregnancy during this outing — and, ugh, maybe even the thought of looking at boats bobbing up and down on the waves and making sharp turns was enough for her to get nauseated.

Don't pull out those gorgeous, perfectly blown-out chestnut locks, Kate! In this photo, Will looks like he's trying to stifle a giggle, whereas his wife appears none too pleased. We don't know exactly what's going on here, but we gotta say that if we had to work with our husbands — the same dudes who can sometimes leave a trail of dirty clothes all over the floor and mansplain stuff while we roll our eyes — we'd also be over it pretty quickly.

Looks like something's shocked the duchess — and not necessarily in a good way. We have confidence Kate Middleton rebounded and responded to whatever was going on with grace. But perhaps she didn't like something on the royal dinner menu that night during her trip to Canada. Maybe the nation's famous ketchup chips or poutine didn't agree with her stomach? (We hope she at least got the chance to try those foods while there.)

Kate looks like she's had it with Princess Charlotte in this photo. Knowing that the world is waiting to critique her parenting skills had to put quite a strain on both mom and daughter in this moment. As far as we can tell from pictures of Kate disciplining her kids, she's a nurturing but take-no-nonsense kind of mom — one who's not afraid to grit her teeth and lay down the law to her kiddos, paparazzi presence or not.

Kate literally has her hands full here, so it's no wonder she's dropped her usual beaming countenance for a moment. Corralling two tots on a foreign tour is no easy feat — especially in heels. But Kate is very hands-on, and she knows that the kids will be in the public limelight all their lives. So exposing them little by little is important, as George and Charlotte's first Christmas Day church walk in 2019 proved. But by this point, Kate was ready to go.

Kate definitely looks like her mind is wandering far, far away. We can't blame her. When one attends as many events as she does, one can't help but space out a bit, we're sure. There are only so many speeches on the state of British forestry that she can listen to before she starts thinking about what kind of curry she'll order for the Game of Thrones binge-a-thon that she and William have planned for that night.

Kate may have married her Prince Charming, but she's clearly not feeling it in this picture. In fact, she seems to be completely spacing out as he drones on and on about some amazing nonprofit organization or other. Even royal marriages have their ups and downs! Sometimes a girl's just gotta tune her guy out.

We wish we knew what Kate was reacting to in this shot taken during her solo trip to the Netherlands. Perhaps someone in the crowd was wearing a funny T-shirt or saying something wacky. In any case, when she wears this type of ultra-molded updo coupled with pale lipstick and an ultra-pale coatdress, she doesn't quite have her usual youthful glow. She's not so camera-ready this time.

A fabulously good sport who is up for just about anything (and is fit enough to pull if off), Kate took part in a personal development training session, that included a jumping exercise, when visiting cadets at the Royal Air Force's Wittering base. Her face seems to say, "Ah, the things I have to put up with for my prince! But at least my hair looks as lustrous and bouncy as a Shetland pony's, and my jacket is crazy chic!" At least, that's what we'd be thinking if we were her.

Kate looks like she just can't believe what she heard in this picture. Considering she was visiting with kids at a junior high school, what could it possibly be? We know that kids say the darnedest things. But as a mom of three, she should be pretty used to hearing wild statements. That makes her shocked/disgusted face that much more intriguing!

During an official visit to Paris, it seemed like the style icon was either getting tired (perhaps a bit too much champagne, oui?) or looking slightly amused by what she was witnessing. Whatever the case, we have to say that her makeup look is totally on point — and très French: beautifully lined and shadowed top eyelids, set off by a highlighted brow line, and subtle shades of everything else. She may have a funny expression, but she looks super camera-ready otherwise!

Kate is leaning in to her husband as the royal duo watched the RBS Six Nations rugby match between France and Wales at Stade de France in Paris. Looks like Wales might not be doing so well based on Kate's worried expression. Since William is the heir to the title of Prince of Wales, he didn't look very pleased with the scoring results either.

Another night in Paris, another reception in honor of something or someone important. It looks like Kate is doing her best to keep her eyes wide open for whatever yawner she's attending. She's most likely dying to head back to the hotel, put her feet up, and catch some shut-eye. How does one say, "Where's the coffee?" in French, again?

Look at those forearm muscles — she's so tense! At the Wimbledon tennis championship in 2019, Kate clearly wasn't having it with how the match she was watching was playing out. For a sports nut like Kate, who likes to play different games and stay active, watching from the sidelines while someone else competes in a tight match can be nerve-wracking. Well, it's either that, or she's playing a very confused version of the "Here's the Church" children's finger rhyme game.

Kate arrived at opening night of 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal in London and she doesn't look too thrilled with the situation (though her dress is so pretty!). Perhaps she didn't get an aisle seat? If we were her, we'd just be wondering why the palace didn't schedule us to see Hamilton instead.

As an extremely expressive spectator, Kate doesn't seem to be loving what she's seeing on the playing field. Perhaps her team just lost the game? Something is going on here! Maybe she looked up at the Jumbotron and saw someone making eyes at her hubby. Kate may be royalty now, but this kind of look makes us think that she could hold her own in a scuffle. We'd hold her (diamond) earrings.

OMG, this is priceless! On an official trip to New York, Kate participated in wrapping Christmas presents for underprivileged children. When someone from the organization yelled to everyone to keep wrapping, the Duchess of Cambridge famously rolled her eyes. Guess she wasn't quite feeling the Christmas spirit at that moment.

Before Kate became an official member of the royal family, she didn't quite always have her game face on. Nor should she have — she was just a twentysomething living her life. This photo was snapped after a night of clubbing, and the future duchess was definitely not ready for the photographers.

By now, the Duchess of Cambridge is so used to cameras always being around that her default is just to smile. But in her early experiences with photographers, sometimes she just didn't want to have to be "on" for their cameras. Who can blame her? She's just trying to walk home and they're all over her.

Nausea can hit so fast for someone who's pregnant, and Kate looks like that's exactly what she's experiencing here. She has a grimace on her face and a hand on her belly, and of course the cameras were there to capture it all. We're so glad we weren't famous when we were pregnant.

Everyone who's ever worn a skirt can relate to Kate in this moment. We can practically hear her little scream as the wind starts to lift her skirt in front of a ton of photographers. Fortunately, she acted quickly and was able to keep it in place. But that was a close one! Sadly we doubt that the paparazzi would have given her privacy if it had flown up.

Kate slipped into full mom mode here. It was her sister Pippa's wedding, and her kiddos weren't behaving. We don't blame the duchess for striking a stern tone with her little ones. Of course, she probably wishes the cameras weren't there to capture the whole thing. But alas, such is her life.

In 2019, Kate participated in a sailing race, and she came in dead last. The competitive royal was clearly a mixture of frustrated and embarrassed, so she wasn't able to take her usual flawless post-race photos. This picture shows such a real side of the Duchess of Cambridge. She experiences normal emotions just like us!

Look, usually when Kate plays sports, she looks amazing — even in heels. But sometimes the cameras just catch her at an awkward moment, like right after she made a mistake during a cricket match. This photo is so funny. It really betrays every single emotion she was feeling at the moment.

Kate's wedges got the best of her on a trip to a New Zealand winery. Or perhaps she'd just had a little bit too much of the vineyard's product? She didn't completely fall down, but she did stumble, and William was really no help at all. She needed her husband's steady hand to stay upright. Come on, William!

No one looks cute when they're in the middle of eating a snack, not even the Duchess of Cambridge. We can't tell if she really doesn't like the food she's biting into here or if Prince William made her laugh and almost spit it out. Either way, this isn't the most flattering picture of the duchess.

In this photo, it seems like Kate may have asked Wimbledon Chairman Philip Brook to check her teeth for spinach. (All clear, by the way.) Even though Kate takes in her tennis from the royal box — in full view of everyone — she always makes her funniest faces at this event.

Her scrunched face seems to be expressing disgust at something. She was at the horse races at Royal Ascot, so maybe she got a little too close to the animals and their smells? Or perhaps the horse she bet on didn't win. In any case, we wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that look.

The royals are supposed to keep pretty buttoned up about any relationship or family drama. But Kate let the whole world in on the secret that she seemed to be fighting with William during this event. He went to put his hand on her shoulder, and she dramatically shrugged it off. They seem to have recovered since, though.

Kate's beaming facade slipped a little during the 2018 Trooping the Colour. She and the Duchess of Sussex ended up in this awkward photo that pretty much summed up their whole relationship. They were just not great at connecting as sisters-in-law. To be fair, Meghan isn't very camera-ready in the picture either.

They may have been discussing important stuff in this meeting (specifically mental health), but Kate looks the teensiest bit bored here. Perhaps the meeting ran longer than expected or there was an especially dry speaker. In any case, she looks ready to get out of there. Frankly, so does William.

Perhaps Kate thought the cameras would be more focused on Meghan's big polo debut with Archie to pay attention to her — but they weren't. Paparazzi caught Kate playing with Louis by making funny faces at him. It's a really cute moment, but it definitely shows another side of the duchess than her usual poised self.