Kate Middleton gets the Barbie treatment

The week before Christmas, my husband and I were looking for a gift for a friend’s daughter and we ventured into Hamleys of London on Regent Street. To say the famous toyshop was mayhem on top of chaos, wrapped inside pandemonium would hardly begin to describe it.

Along with the insanity of the crowd, however, I was doubly struck by how many dolls they had for sale. Of course, there were also board games, stuffed animals and those plastic balls you stick your hamster in but the English love their dolls (we purchased a plushy Dora the Explorer) and Hamleys is doll ground zero.

All of this is to say that it comes as no surprise Hamleys has just released a limited edition Princess Catherine Doll.

Retailing for £35 each, the run of 10,000 Barbie-style Kates are dressed in a tiny wrap frock that slightly resembles Kate’s famous blue Issa dress. They also come with a pair of sling-backs, an Eaton clutch bag (just like Kate’s, but obviously smaller) a weird pink fascinator and a crown. Just imagine dressing Kate up for Elton John’s Oscar party and her debating with herself: “Hmmm, crown or fascinator? Fascinator or crown?”

And how about the dolls’ resemblance to the real Ms. Middleton? Well, I’ve never seen Kate in the flesh but if she looks like the lesbian lovechild of Maria Shriver and Katie Holmes – they’ve totally hit it out of the park!