Franklin Mint Doll

Royal row over 'tacky' Kate doll

After all the furore over tacky mementos of the Royal Wedding, Prince William will be dismayed to learn of a new attempt to exploit his bride that has echoes  of the way his mother’s memory was tarnished.

A china figurine entitled The Catherine, purporting to show Kate Middleton wearing her Sarah Burton wedding dress, is about to be launched by the online collectables company, Compton and Woodhouse.

The effigy, moulded by sculptress Carolyn Morton, who specialises in bronze animals, costs £199, plus a £20 reservation fee, and is being created in time for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tour of Canada and the U.S., which begins tomorrow.

The company boasts that Ms Morton will be delivering the doll herself to potential buyers in the States, and advertising blurb says Carolyn has been ‘working hard to capture the beauty of the bride. . . concentrating on getting the pose, delicacy of the bouquet. . . as well as the beautiful face captured within clay’.

However, the end result has been derided as ‘absolutely dreadful’ by friends of the Royal Family and the Middletons.

After studying the firm’s online advertising for the figurine, the Queen’s former aide, Dickie Arbiter, says: ‘It is horrible. Absolutely dreadful. Anybody who spends that kind of money on it needs their head examined. It is cashing in without any taste. It is just tacky.’ He adds: ‘The face is all wrong. It is the sort of thing that belongs on a naff mantelpiece of a soap opera.’

The doll comes just three months after the manufacture of the ‘Lucky Kate’ doll by U.S. company Franklin Mint, the firm which the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund had to pay  £13.5 million in a failed legal action to try to protect Diana’s image.

Friends of Kate say the latest doll bears little resemblance to the Duchess.

But the company says it is hoping that it will be one of its ‘most prestigious and collectable figurines ever’. It maintains it has   a waiting list of more than 500 buyers and is offering customers the opportunity to pay in four instalments.

Becoming pregnant at 16, property heiress Tamara Beckwith struggled with motherhood. But luckily for daughter Anouska, now 24, her grandmother Paula, the wife of financier Peter Beckwith, was there to fill the void.

Black Doll Collecting: Michelle O. in Vive Jacqui!

Have both worn the yellow two-piece, taffeta, Vive Jacqui! suit, which, according to the fashion's certificate of authenticity, is "a replica of the actual ensemble that Jackie Kennedy wore on the State visit to France in May 1961."   This Franklin Mint fashion was authorized and authenticated by fashion designer, Oleg Cassini, who designed the original suit worn by Jackie Kennedy. 

Sounds like a good idea Dollz4Moi. Do keep in mind that the Jackie outfits may fit a little snug on FM's Michelle Obama since she is an inch and a half taller with probably more curves than their Jackie doll. I think the Princess Di outfits may be a better fit for her. I may do another redress soon using a Princess Di fashion to compare the fit. In fact, I think that should be my next blog in case others have the same idea. Notice of Copyright: Unless otherwise stated, all material on this site is the copyright of Debbie Behan Garrett (the author). Text and images may not be used unless express permission is granted by the author . Feel free to link to or quote this site and include the proper credit. Again, please do not use images or text without the express permission of the author.

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