Kate Middleton gets paired with unexpected member of the Trump family at state banquet and eyebrows have been raised

The baffling choice of who Kate Middleton was paired with for the royal procession into the state banquet last night has left people confused.

For those who aren't up to speed, last night (17 September), King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcomed Donald Trump and wife Melania to Windsor Castle's stunning St George’s Hall.

The regal meal brought the first full day of the POTUS' second state visit to the UK to a close, with Trump delivering a speech at the table to round it all off.

As well as the royals, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, 160 guests were in attendance for the regal event, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria.

White House staff, lesser-known royals, and even technology and business giants all mingled as they sat at one long table. And as if it couldn't get any more fancy, before they actually sit down, the royals and honoured guests have to enter the room in a procession.

The procession was, of course, led by King Charles and Donald Trump, followed by Queen Camilla and Melania (WPA Pool/Getty Images)

This simply means they move forward in an orderly fashion as part of a ceremonial welcome, usually in pairs, as was the case last night.

However, Royal Family fans were surprised to discover that the Prince and Princess of Wales weren't paired with each other and did not sit next to each other at the dinner.

Naturally, the procession began with King Charles and President Trump walking in together, followed by the Queen and Melania.

Next was Prince William, who escorted Paula Reynolds - an energy executive who currently serves as the Chair of the National Grid.

Meanwhile, Kate was joined by Michael Boulos, an American business executive who is married to Tiffany Trump, the US President's younger daughter.

Kate Middleton entered alongside Michael Boulos, the husband of Trump's daughter Tiffany (Aaron Chown-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Tiffany, who is the only child that Trump shares with his ex-wife Marla Maples, also got a spot in the procession - however, she was five whole pairings behind her husband.

Eventually, she walked in with the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, and people are seriously baffled by the rogue choices.

Boulos was also seated next to Kate at the table, who was between him and Trump, while Tiffany was further down the table.

And they weren't the only couple who were split up, as Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, were not together

Anne walked with Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the United Kingdom, while her husband followed behind, with US healthcare executive Dame Vivian Hunt.

Prince William escorted Paula Reynolds, an energy executive who currently serves as the Chair of the National Grid (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

While some people were confused by the order, one royal fanatic offered an explanation on social media.

They wrote: "Tiffany was not snubbed. The Royal Procession into the State Dinner is defined by two things - the Seniority of the Royal firstly who accompanies a person of the opposite sex is the second mandatory rule."

While it varies by event, the royal procession does usually follow a set order, with the most senior royals entering first. And who knows? Maybe they just wanted to mix things up by not having some of the couples together.

Royals also usually steer clear of any PDA at official events, so this could be why they entered apart.