On March 8, to mark International Women’s Day, the royal family’s official Instagram account shared a carousel of portraits of royal women taken by female photographers, highlighting the monarchy’s longstanding support for women in photography.

However, noticeably missing from the post was Princess Kate, as well as the late Princess Diana, who also held the Princess of Wales title before her passing in 1997.

Royal family ‘snubs’ Princess Kate in International Women’s Day post

The post included historic and modern portraits of Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Duchess Sophie, Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

While the post – which you can see here – aimed to honour royal women through the lens of female photographers, many fans were quick to call out Kate’s absence.

“You’re missing the Princess of Wales, both of them,” one user wrote, referring to both Kate and Diana.

“Not the mother of the future king? No respect,” another fumed.

“BIG mistake not including HRH, Catherine, the Princess of Wales,” a third fan commented.

“Catherine?? The most famous person in the royalty?” A fan questioned.

“Omitting the Princess of Wales, who has not only been photographed professionally by other women but also is a keen photographer herself, is questionable at best. Insulting at worst,” another agreed.

However, some tried to defend the omission.

BIG mistake not including HRH, Catherine, the Princess of Wales.

“The Princess of Wales wasn’t included because she hasn’t had her official portrait taken by a professional female photographer as of yet,” one supporter claimed.

Another wrote in response to the complaints: “Probably because a female photographer hasn’t taken any official portraits of Catherine yet. Read the post properly and stop looking stupid.”

Prince William and Princess Kate mark International Women’s Day separately

Despite the noticeable absence of Kate from the royal family’s post, she and Prince William chose to mark International Women’s Day in their own way.

The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a tribute to 12 inspiring women they had met over the past year.

Among those highlighted in their social media post were Chloe Hopkins, who runs the food charity Surplus to Supper, and Holocaust survivor Yvonne Bernstein.

Yvonne is one of the women Kate photographed for her 2020 Hold Still project.

Teenage photographer Liz Hatton was also included. Liz met William and Kate in October 2024 before she tragically died from cancer in November 2024.

“Celebrating #InternationalWomensDay! Here are just a few of the brilliant women who have inspired us over the last 12 month,” the couple captioned the Twitter thread.

The couple’s tribute was widely praised. Many fans noted that Kate continues to champion women in ways that go beyond official royal social media posts.

“Thank you for this beautiful post. You always rise above,” one fan gushed in the comments.

“A great thread full of wonderful women!! Happy day to them and all of us! And thank you for focusing on others,” another echoed.

Princess Kate will attend Commonwealth Day service

Meanwhile, Princess Kate will make her return to the annual Commonwealth Day service today (Monday, March 10).

This comeback comes after she was forced to miss last year’s event due to her cancer battle.

After stepping away from royal duties for treatment, Kate announced in January that she was in remission and ready to slowly return to work.

Her attendance at Westminster Abbey will be a significant milestone. Meanwhile, King Charles will also make his first Commonwealth Day appearance since his own cancer diagnosis.