EXCLUSIVE: KATE MIDDLETON DECLINES ANNA WINTOUR’S MET GALA INVITATION AGAIN — FOR A VERY PERSONAL REASON

Hello, hello, hello…

Anna Wintour had one dream guest for Monday’s Met Gala — and once again, she couldn’t get her.

Sources tell Naughty But Nice that Anna made a personal, determined push to land the Princess of Wales for fashion’s biggest night, viewing Kate as the one royal who could instantly eclipse everyone else on the carpet.

“Kate is the one celebrity Anna wants and cannot get,” one insider tells me. “That is the obsession.”

The appeal was obvious. A Kate appearance on the Met steps would have instantly revived memories of Princess Diana’s iconic 1996 debut, when she arrived in a slinky navy Dior slip dress, a seven-strand sapphire-and-pearl choker, and sapphire-and-diamond earrings — jewels later inherited by Kate.

But insiders say this was never just about style nostalgia.

“This was never only about Diana,” says a source close to the situation. “Anna wanted Kate because Kate is the ultimate prize.”

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And Anna didn’t stop at the invitation.

Sources say she even sought quiet help from King Charles and Queen Camilla, hoping palace encouragement might succeed where fashion’s most powerful woman had failed.

It didn’t.

“Kate understood exactly what was being asked,” says one palace source. “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.”

Insiders say Kate saw the entire proposition as too calculated, too obvious, and far too loaded.

“She was never going to turn herself — or Diana — into a Met Gala moment,” the source adds.

Cheers,

Rob Shuter

And remember… if you’re going to be naughty, you’ve got to be nice. 💋