PAUL ELLIS/AFP/GettyImagesHere's some food for thought: Is Kate Middleton a powerful woman?
No, according to BBC Radio's 4's first-ever Woman's Hour top 100 list, which named the 100 most powerful women in the U.K. and noticeably passed over the Duchess of Cambridge, calling her "influential" but not "powerful."
Surprisingly enough, Kate's grandmother-in-law Queen Elizabeth took the top slot, followed by the U.K.'s Home Secretary Teresa May. Angela Ahrendts, the CEO of Burberry, Victoria Beckham, Adele, Stella McCartney and J.K. Rowling also nabbed spots in the top 100.
The list was compiled by a judging panel that included journalist Eve Pollard, conservative MP Priti Patel, Labour politician and peer Oona King (who recently competed on the British reality show Dancing on Ice) and crime novelist Val McDermid.
Speaking about the top 100 list, Pollard confessed the panel was aware of the controversy the mama-to-be's omission would certainly cause:
"Inevitably not everyone will agree with our 100," she admitted. "There are some omissions. For example, we had long debates about the Duchess of Cambridge."
"Is she influential? Hugely. Is she powerful? Not yet," the former newspaper editor added.
"Most women on our list have power because they have reached a place where they have control—of policy, of direction, of influence, of staff," she explained. "The panel also included some women who have soft power—the ability to transform the way we think about ourselves."
Well, in this royal case we'll agree to disagree.
Do you think Kate should have been included in the list? Tell us in the comments.