The Met Gala is the chance to brush shoulders with fashion royalty – and occasionally, actual royalty as well.
Since its inception, the Metropolitan Museum of Art fundraiser has hosted the biggest stars in the world, coveting extravagance, pomp and performance.
Perfect for a princess.
Princess Diana threw out the royal rulebook with her lingerie-inspired Met Gala look in 1996. (Penske Media via Getty Images)
Even Anna Wintour, who has led the fundraiser since 1995, considers royalty gracing the Met steps the holy grail, naming Catherine, the now-Princess of Wales and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex as her dream guests in 2019.
“I would love to have the Duchess of Sussex and Duchess of Cambridge together,” Wintour said on Today.
“They could leave their husbands at home; it’s the two of them I want.”
Neither have attended yet, but if they ever do, a look back at all the royals to grace the carpet proves they’ll certainly be in good company.
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Princess Diana
Princess Diana only attended the Met Gala once, in 1996, but that was all she needed to cement herself in the events’ all-timer lists.
The Princess of Wales arrived in a gorgeous navy slip dress designed by John Galliano for Dior, which perfectly matched her beloved sapphire jewellery, just four months after her divorce from the now King Charles.
While the dress is now viewed as an iconic style moment, it wasn’t actually designed this way.
According to Galliano, Diana made a late modification to the dress.
The Princess of Wales ripped the corset out of her Galliano gown, even surprising the designer himself. (Patrick McMullan via Getty Image)
“Fast-forward to the event, and I just remember her getting out of the car,” the designer said in the series, In Vogue: The 90s.
“I couldn’t believe it. She’d ripped the corset out. She didn’t want to wear the corset. She felt so liberated. She’d torn the corset out. The dress was much more sensuous.”
Unsurprisingly, Diana’s attendance was a game-changer for the event and, according to insiders, spurred Wintour to turn the event into the spectacle we now know it to be.
Filipa Fino, a former senior accessories director at American Vogue, worked with Wintour for seven years.
Speaking to The Times, she recalled how Diana attending the event with Wintour’s then-rival, Harper’s Bazaar editor Elizabeth Tilberis, spurred her former boss, who believed she should’ve been the one to accompany the princess to the ball.
Sadly, Diana died just eight months after attending the event.
“This seed of Anna never being able to host Princess Diana at the Met, and her vision of what it should be like – worthy of a princess – is what drove her from 1996 to today. She took on the Costume Institute Ball as her own personal project,” Fino said.
Princess Beatrice
A purple gown and a headband that mimicked a crown – very royal indeed. (Getty)
Princess Beatrice was a surprise attendee at the 2018 event.
She embraced the theme of Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination in a regal purple gown by Alberta Ferretti.
Queen Rania of Jordon
It’s not only princesses gracing the Met Gala carpet, but occasionally queens as well.
Queen Rania of Jordan has attended the Met Gala twice. (Getty)
Nine years after her first event, the Queen dazzled in a feather-inspired Valentino guide. (Getty)
The Queen of Jordan has attended twice, in 2007 and 2016.
The 2007 theme was Poiret: King of Fashion, honouring the iconic French fashion designer, and Queen Rania honoured it with a structed, kaftan-style navy and black gown.
For 2016’s Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology event, she wore Valentino.
Charlotte Casiraghi
Charlotte Casiraghi was hard to miss in this bright ensemble in 2026. (Getty)
Charlotte Casiraghi is 12th in line to the throne of Monaco, and has graced the Met on four separate occasions.
As the granddaughter of Hollywood star-turned-royal Grace Kelly, it’s no surprise she’s a style icon in her own right.
From a colourful, tiered Gucci dress in 2016 to a lacey black number in 2023, she’s always brought her unique, edgy aesthetic.
In 2018, Charlotte – the granddaughter of Princess Grace of Monaco – was rocker-chic in a Saint Laurent mini dress. (Getty)
She wore Saint Laurent for the second year in a row, wearing this ruffled gown to the 2019 event. (Getty)
In her latest Met Gala appearance, Charlotte was glamorous in lace in 2023. (Getty)
After so much colour at her first appearance, Charlotte has since opted for black – but that certainly doesn’t mean boring.
Princess Marie-Chantal
Princess Marie-Chantal is married to Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece and Prince of Denmark.
The princess clearly has a love of the arts, attending the New York Academy of Art and Fashion Institute of Technology and even interning under Andy Warhol while in high school.
Marie-Chantal attended the 2001 Met Gala – pictured here with late fashion icon Valentino. (Getty)
For the 2001 event, which celebrated the White House fashion of Jackie Kennedy, Marie-Chantal nailed the theme: with a dress worn by the former US first lady herself.
She wore a draped, one-shoulder Valentino gown worn by Kennedy in 1967.
Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis
Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis is a German journalist and socialite, and a member of German nobility, the House of Thurn and Taxis.
Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, centre, at her first Met Gala in 2012. (Getty)
Nailed it! (Penske Media via Getty Images)
She’s made four appearances at the Met, embracing different styles from structed minis to punk.
The below look was for, of course, the 2013 gala, themed PUNK: Chaos to Couture.
Princess Elisabeth later attended two years in a row with two very different looks – a Swarovski-crystal-studded mini dress designed by Mary Katrantzou in 2016 and a dusty-pink Simone Rocha jacket look with floral appliques in 2017.
Elisabeth shone in crystals in 2016… (FilmMagic)
…and stood out in pink and red in 2017. (Patrick McMullan via Getty Image)
Will more royals join this list at future Met Galas? We certainly hope so.
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