OverDressed for Life

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wearing Issa the day after her wedding. Does anyone else feel this dress is too short for her?

Are we feeling the royal void? No Kate news for weeks now. Sorry readers, we will have to get used to it.

Diana, Princess of Wales spoiled us with regular feeds of fashion and drama and perhaps we all thought that with a new princess, the good old days were back. Apparently not.

For one thing, Queen Elizabeth has granted the newlyweds a two-year reprieve from royal duties, allowing William to focus on his military job and Kate to settle into married life. For us that means fewer photo ops and Kate-fashion-plates to scrutinize.

Also, Kate will not be courting the press. It is considered bad form to outshine the future king and Kate is not Diana. According to British historian Andrew Roberts in Maclean’s magazine, Diana was a “meteor” and “blazing a trail the royals shouldn’t have blazed.” By contrast, Kate with her middle class roots is more grounded and “in it for the long haul.” She’s not going to do anything to annoy her new in-laws.

Kate is quite happy to follow her husband, literally. While on royal duties she will honor protocol and keep two steps behind her prince. Kate will not have a career, give any interviews or pose for pictures, other than official royal pics. We will rarely hear her voice and we will get to know the Duchess mostly through her fashion choices and what charities she supports.

Kate’s family will also feel the void. There won’t be any Windsor/Middleton shindigs and the Middleton family will celebrate holidays without their eldest daughter. Kate is a member of the royal family now and predictions are that she intends to tow the royal line.

(Note: The royals do have some celebrations coming up this summer. The Queen’s 85th birthday in June and Prince Philip’s 90th birthday is also in June. William and Kate are traveling to Canada in July with a stop in California on the way home. We just might get a peek at the newlyweds. Over Dressed for Life will be keeping an eye on Kate’s fashion.)