It’s a lovely photograph – a young couple heading off into the future together, hand in hand. Okay, they are walking out of Buckingham Palace, on the way to a helicopter ready to take them to an undisclosed location, and someone else clearly has the luggage – but it still has to make you smile. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared the most important day of their lives so far with millions of people, but now it’s time to give them some time to themselves, just to be themselves.
I really hope we can all manage that. After all, the Royal Couple will be seen at the Trooping of the Colour in June, and at Prince Philip’s ninetieth birthday celebrations, as well as on their official trip to Canada at the beginning of July. They deserve some time to themselves after all the excitement of the last few months, some time to settle into their marriage and their home, and also for a well deserved honeymoon.
I wonder if we, the public, so voraciously desirous of news – any news – will be able to give them the peace and privacy they so deserve. I hope all this nonsense about having a baby straight away will die down too. Unless that is what they really want to do – and it is absolutely none of my business or anyone else’s but theirs – there is no reason at all they should feel pressured to produce an heir immediately. The Duchess is only 29 – many people wait far later than that to have their first child. This is a new era for the Royal Family, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are a completely new breed of Royals.
All this said, I confess I will still look forward to pictures of the Royal Couple, but only if they are not intrusive and have been taken when they are on official engagements. I find the Duchess of Cambridge’s style really inspiring – and I love how she wore high street the day after her wedding. The cornflower blue dress by popular high street retailer Zara that she is wearing to leave the Palace looks wonderful on her, and she has paired it with a classic black jacket none of the fashion mavens seems precisely able to place. She may once again be using an existing piece from her wardrobe. Her shoes are from L K Bennett – again high street – and look very much like the ones she wore for her shopping trip in the Kings Road a little over a week ago. The Duchess of Cambridge is a fantastic fashion inspiration for the times, encouraging us to use existing pieces from our wardrobes and choose things based on how they look on us, regardless of the designer, brand or how expensive they are. She has underlined the fact that there is no sin in wearing couture one day and high street the next, or even in wearing them together. She has also made it perfectly acceptable to be seen in an outfit more than once. It’s a practical, sensible and very stylish message to be sending out, and I really admire her for it. We might not all be able to afford couture, but we can definitely all be fashionable and look wonderful. It’s an excellent message for both aspiring and long established fashionistas alike.
It’s not just her fashion sense that has made the Duchess of Cambridge a wonderful addition to the Royal Family though and I look forward to watching her come into her own over the next few months and years. But at the same time, I pray both the Duke and Duchess are given lots and lots of time and space together. Just because they are in the public eye doesn’t make them public property.
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