Crown Duels: Are comparisons between Queen Mary and Catherine unfair and 'patronising'?

It was February 2022 when two of the world's most-watched, and stylish, royals came together for their first joint engagement without their husbands: Mary and Catherine, side-by-side, in Copenhagen.

Immediately, commentators drew comparisons between the women, who, since then, have moved up the royal ranks: Catherine is now Princess of Wales and Mary, Queen of Denmark.

It was not the first time similarities between Mary and Catherine had been made, and in the years following their much-publicised engagement, the comparisons have only increased.

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Both were so-called 'commoners' before their marriages and Queen Mary has often been called a role model for Catherine, because she has been on the job, so to speak, for longer.

It was 2004 when Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson married Denmark's heir, then-Crown Prince Frederik.

Twenty years later, in January 2024, Mary became Queen when her husband ascended the throne following the abdication of his mother, Queen Margrethe II.

Then-Kate Middleton married into the British royal family in 2011, becoming the Duchess of Cambridge when she and Prince William said 'I do'.

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They became the Prince and Princess of Wales in September, 2022, when Elizabeth II died making her son, Charles, King.

Both Mary and Catherine share similar interests and on a surface level, they often dress in similar clothes – sometimes choosing the same outfits.

They have also dedicated large parts of their royal work to helping some of the most vulnerable in society, mainly children.

"I can certainly see comparisons but no, I don't like to call Mary Kate's role model," nine.com.au's royal reporter Natalie Oliveri says in the latest episode of Crown Duels

"I think it's just a way for some sectors of the media to put up comparisons between the two of them for attention."

Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter says comparing the two women was "patronising".

"I think it's a little patronising, we are pitting women against women in who did it better, who wore it better, who's copying who," Arbiter says.

"I admire Mary enormously but to suggest Kate is following her lead would indicate Kate can't do it on her own."

For more, watch the full video below.

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