Lip reader reveals what Camilla said to Kate after blowing a kiss

Queen Camilla showed the strength of her bond with the Prince and Princess of Wales in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment during the start of the state visit on Wednesday.

The King’s wife, 78, blew a kiss in Prince William and Kate’s direction as soon as she spotted them upon her arrival at Windsor to welcome the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife, Elke Büdenbender.

Further proving their closeness, Camilla wasn’t content with only an air kiss and quickly moved to her stepson’s side to share a peck on the cheek before using the same greeting for Kate, who then added a formal curtsey to the Queen.

Camilla then shared a further light-hearted moment with Kate, jovially acknowledging that they were both wearing similar shades of blue for the state visit.

As she greeted the Prince and Princess, Her Majesty took Kate’s arm and said: ‘We are almost matching!”, according to lip reader Jacqui Press.

Both Camilla and Kate, 43, had chosen to wear blue for the start of Wednesday’s visit, with the Queen opting for a cobalt colour and the Princess selecting a softer shade of blue.

Not only were the two royal women wearing similar coats but their accessories were similar too. Both were wearing pillbox hats adorned with feathers, also in shades of blue.

In a stark contrast, the family’s show of affection while performing their duties came on the same day as the launch of Meghan Markle’s critically panned festive special on Netflix.

Prince Harry was also on TV, having made a surprise, toe-curling appearance on  Stephen Colbert’s Late Show where he mocked President Donald Trump by claiming America had ‘elected a king’, sparking pantomime boos from the audience.

But while the Sussexes appeared on the small screen, Camilla, William and Kate joined King Charles to welcome the German President to the UK, marking the first state visit by a German politician in 27 years.

Commenting on the touching interaction between Camilla and Kate earlier in the day, fans said the gesture was ‘lovely’ and praised the princess as ‘pure class’.  

‘That was beautiful,’ one person said beneath the video.  ‘The courtesy, no matter what, the respect,’ another remarked, while someone else said William was a ‘class act’. 

As the royals welcomed the German President to the UK, Camilla and Kate matched in blue, with Kate opting for an Alexander McQueen coat by Sarah Burton – the same designer behind her wedding dress from 2011. 

Camilla also opted for an heirloom accessory, wearing the sapphire-and-diamond Prince Albert brooch that belonged to Queen Victoria and was passed down to Queen Elizabeth II.

In the evening, the royals hosted a lavish state banquet for the president and his wife. 

The diplomatic leaders were joined by a collection of celebrities including supermodel Claudia Schiffer and her filmmaker husband Sir Matthew Vaughn, as well as Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse and German footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger.

Inside St George’s Hall, no expense was spared, as the table gleamed beneath 158 candles and a towering 20-foot Christmas tree glittering with fairy lights.

Every detail had been meticulously prepared: 152 place settings arranged with 329 knives, 320 spoons and 760 glasses, while silver-gilt centrepieces from the Grand Service were filled with hand-picked flowers gathered from Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and The Savill Garden.

Amid all the grandeur, it was the Princess of Wales who drew the night’s most heartfelt admiration.

Kate arrived in a sweeping pale blue Jenny Packham gown, her gently waved hair crowned with Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet tiara – a rarely seen piece of royal jewellery.

It was designed by German-born Prince Albert for his beloved wife and features lotus flowers within eleven Mughal arches and 2,600 diamonds from Garrard in London. 

Originally set with opals – that were later replaced by Queen Alexandra with Indian rubies – it became an ‘heirloom of the Crown’ upon Victoria’s death in 1901.

It was also worn frequently by the Queen Mother and only once by Queen Elizabeth in 2006, it is not believed to have been seen in public since – until last night.

Kate was accompanied by Prince William, who himself looked suave in a white tie and the Windsor tail coat, as well as a Most Noble Order of the Garter Sash with the Lesser George.

Queen Camilla wore a green lace Fiona Clare gown with the girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara and the Order of Germany sash.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also all in attendance.

The menu was a culinary showcase worthy of the surroundings – hot-smoked trout with langoustines and quail eggs, Windsor partridge wrapped in pastry, crushed winter vegetables, a panaché of seasonal greens and a dramatic baked Alaska.

Guests toasted the evening with Breaky Bottom, Cuvee Reynolds Stone 2010 English sparkling wine, while the red wine, a Chateau La Fleur-Petrus Pomerol 1995, was chosen because it was the year the President and his wife married.

Even the cocktail had been crafted with care, flavoured with chocolate and cherry brandy to echo Black Forest gateau.

The seating plan provoked its own interest, as Keir Starmer was placed next to German-born supermodel Claudia Schiffer – something he looked particularly pleased about.

Perhaps intentionally, the royal household did not seat her beside William, who famously harboured a teenage crush on the model – who is married to filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, who was knighted this year.

At the same time, over in the US, the Duchess of Sussex released the ‘holiday special’ of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan. 

However, it was soon savaged by critics – one of whom gave the ‘quite mad and a little bit sad’ show zero or one star for its ‘numbing content’.

The Duchess of Sussex used the episode to share tips with celebrity friends on how to make crackers, as well as wrapping different types of gifts and decorating a tree.

Giving ‘With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration’ zero stars out of five, the Daily Mail’s reviewer Annabel Fenwick Elliott said: ‘It’s the syrupy hypocrisy and our hostess’s deep lack of self-awareness that continue to make her and this show so unlikeable.

‘If only she could lean into her waspish, Type A personality – poke a little fun at herself, even – she could just about be endearing, in a Monica-from-Friends sort of way.’

It follows the first two critically mauled seasons of With Love, Meghan, and after the Sussexes signed their new watered-down, first-look deal with Netflix in August.

But reviewers in the Daily Mail, Times, Guardian, Telegraph and Independent were left stunned by the 56-minute show – and not in a good way.

Hours later, her husband, Prince Harry, appeared on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, where he mocked President Donald Trump. 

The Duke of Sussex lampooned the President with a reference to the ‘No Kings’ left-wing protests, which saw millions march in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles in October in opposition to Trump and his administration.

Delivering a series of awkward jokes, Harry also criticised CBS for settling a ‘baseless’ lawsuit with the President and claimed the US are ‘obsessed with royalty’.

He also delivered a gag about King George III, Harry’s great great great great great grandfather whose reign saw the loss of the American colonies in 1783, and said Colbert should ‘let it go’ when the host called the late monarch ‘a jerk’.