Kate's Fashion Habit

Prince Charles is paying tens of thousands of pounds a year for Kate Middleton's glamorous outfits.

Although the palace has refused to be drawn on precise details, and says that no breakdown for clothing spend will be released when the Prince's accounts are published on Friday, estimates in the UK press are that the bill could top £35,000 (about $50,000) for clothes Kate has worn in the past six months alone, as she insists on not taking discounts from designers to avoid allegations of impropriety.

The Royalist has learned, however, that it is indeed Prince Charles who is footing the bill for Kate's 'work-related' outfits. The bills are paid through his massive income from the Duchy of Cornwall, a private estate of land and property holdings which last year provided a cool £19.7million.

His official expenditure—out of which will come Kate’s clothing allowance—amounted to £11.4 million last year.

Royal reporter Rebecca English writes in the Daily Mail: "A quick glance at Kate’s recent purchases suggests the increasingly glamorous Duchess has spent more than £35,000 on designer outfits in the past six months alone. Quite a turnaround, then, for the woman who went on her honeymoon in a £49.99 Zara dress."

Indeed.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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