Here’s the Trick Kate Middleton Uses to Look So Good in Photos

A royal style expert gives the scoop.

Kate Middleton
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Miranda Holder, royal style expert, speaking on TikTok: “Have you ever wondered why Kate Middleton looks so stunning in her photographs?”

This writer, no makeup on and sipping coffee: “Pretty much daily.”

Holder: “Because she does—every single time.”

It’s true: Kate rarely, if ever, photographs badly. But, according to Holder, there’s a trick behind that, and the London-based expert is filling us in on how we, too, can take better photos.

“The Duchess of Cambridge has had some media training, and I’m going to share a cheeky little style hack that she uses,” she says, per The Sun. “She has simply been trained to always keep her chin parallel to the ground. She doesn’t tilt it down, she doesn’t tilt it up—and that ensures a flattering photograph every single time.”

*immediately starts practicing*

After her clip went viral, Holder came back to answer criticism that Kate always photographs well because she’s “stunning to begin with,” according to The Sun. But Holder stood firm.

“And a whole load of you have come back saying ‘No, it’s just because she’s good-looking, and she’s wealthy and she’s got stylists.' That’s not true.”

Holder says even the most traditionally beautiful among us can photograph poorly.

“So I can tell you from years of working with supermodels, celebrities, and models, that you can be the most gorgeous person in the world and still get a horrific photograph,” she says. “So it really is all about your relationship to the camera and where you place your jaw. If it’s too low, it’s not good. If it’s too high—definitely not good. We don’t want to see your nostrils.”

Time to go road test this one.

Rachel Burchfield
Contributing Royal Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family. In addition to serving as the royal editor at Marie Claire, she has worked with publications like Vogue, Vanity Fair, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. She cohosts Podcast Royal, a show that provides candid commentary on the biggest royal family headlines and offers segments on fashion, beauty, health and wellness, and lifestyle.