No New Line, but Kate Trademarks Her Name For Clothes Just in Case

Kate Middleton has been a massive boost not just to the Royal Family’s popularity but also to the finances of its charitable arm, the Royal Collection (£4m pounds in wedding china, £10m in ticket sales to see her wedding dress) so no surprise that Kate’s people have now applied to the Intellectual Property Office to trademark her royal title, the Duchess of Cambridge, so that it can be used on "a wide range of goods and services" which specifically include clothing, footwear and headgear.

The latest revelation will add fuel to speculation that a special range of baby clothes will be produced to mark the birth of the royal baby, expected in early July.

However, any “Duchess of Cambridge” branding would be used solely for charitable fund raising. Kate’s title is to be trademarked as part of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, and will be used purely to raise money for a wide variety of charities, according to Richard Eden, writing in The Telegraph.

A spokesman said of the new application, “We included clothing in case we choose, for example, to make T-shirts in years to come, for marathon runners, etc."

However, the Royal Collection has previously suggested it might yet create a range of baby clothes to celebrate the birth of the future heir to the throne.

Since Kate Middleton joined the Royal family, the money raised by the Royal Collection has shot up.

The Royal Collection (RC) made £10million from entry tickets to view Kate Middleton's wedding dress which went on display for 73 days at Buckingham Palace last year.

The trust's CEO Jonathan Marsdon said when the RC annual report was published, "The marriage of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in April 2011 provided the best possible start to the year."

Overall, the Royal Collection’s income soared almost £8.5 million to £50.2 million in 2011/12.

The report said that more than 190,000 items of wedding-related merchandise were sold during the year, at a value of almost £4 million.

The success of their charities has enabled the three young members of the Royal family to give almost £1.2 million in grants to charities helping military veterans, disadvantaged children and wildlife.

Their tour of Canada and the United States also gave their fundraising a huge boost, including around £1 million raised by a polo match in California, some of which has been given to charities in Britain.