Kate's Dresses Are Too Short For The Queen

For all of the sartorial praise Kate Middleton has received in her nearly three years as Duchess of Cambridge, apparently it still isn't enough for one very tough (and influential) critic: the Queen. The Daily Mail royal correspondent Katie Nicholl reports that Kate will undergo a "subtle but significant regal makeover" at the hands of the Queen's own personal dresser (is she a stylist, or does she actually put the clothes on the Queen?) in anticipation of the royal tour of Australia she'll set out on come April.

Ch-ch-ch-changes! What, exactly, do such perimeters entail? Well, longer hemlines, for one. The leggy Duchess has seemed to favor couture dresses abbreviated above knee-length in the past, but I guess the Queen had seen one breeze-up-the-skirt paparazzi shot too many.

Angela Kelly, the Queen's trusted personal assistant, advisor, and wardrobe "curator," will likely not only assist Kate in choosing up to four outfits a day for her three-and-a-half week trip (so many outfits!), but will also help to integrate more jewelry into the Duchess's repertoire. Like, a lot more — this whole princess thing is about to get really serious, with Kate set to sport tiaras on the regular. (Don't worry: not only will her personal hairstylist be on hand Down Under, but she's also "undergone training in the art of attaching a tiara," so this won't impact our ability to admire those covetable curls.) The Australia tour, says a Palace source, is about the 32-year-old Duchess "appearing more Royal than ever," with the Queen "watching closely." The pressure is on.

Although this overhaul is part of a concerted effort to take the Duchess's public persona "from High Street to high end," Kate is sticking to what she knows (and, I imagine, likes). Her favorite designers, including Alexander McQueen and Alice Temperley, are reportedly already at work designing bespoke gowns and day dresses for the trip. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Queen's new influence will affect Kate's "look," and whether a more demure approach will be enough to keep her on Best Dressed lists world over. I'm also interested in knowing if she feels anything like the rest of us would upon being told by our boyfriend's grandmother that our dresses are too short.