Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has long been hailed a fashion icon for her impeccable taste in British designers. But before she received style training on how to dress like a senior royal, she was still finding her feet when it came to fashion.
According to a new book by royal expert Tom Quinn, Prince William once found one of his wife's outfits to be 'inappropriate' and allegedly made a cruel jibe. In an extract from "Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants," one of William's advisors said: 'Before Kate realised that as a senior royal you have to dress carefully, having taken advice, she once bought an outfit that William considered inappropriate.'
'He told Kate she looked as if in order to dress she'd just run through a charity shop covered in superglue.'
While everyone found this amusing, including Kate, Quinn also suggests that the Princess of Wales is more than capable of getting her own back. 'She enjoys ribbing him about his family,' a passage in the new book reads. 'She insists that, as he gets older, William increasingly looks like his great-great-great grandfather Edward VII' - whose waist measured 48 inches shortly before his coronation.
Born in 1841, Edward was the second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He succeeded to the throne in 1901 following Victoria's death and was seen an 'immensely popular and affable sovereign.' But a lifetime of smoking and indulgent eating meant that the former King was unhealthy, balding and overweight earning him the nickname 'Tum Tum' - a delightful comparison for Kate to make.
The Princess of Wales is also said to get a kick out of 'teasing' Prince William 'about the fact that his stepmother Camilla is descended from Edward VII's favourite mistress'.
A sharp sense of humour seems to be central to William and Kate's relationship, evident in their countless public interactions. Indeed when the couple revealed their engagement to the world on November 16, 2010, William could not help but sweetly tease his wife-to-be.
After being asked by journalist Tom Bradby if it was true that Kate had posters of William on her wall, the Prince said: 'It wasn't just one, it was like 10, 20 [posters].'
To which Kate replied: 'He wishes. No, I had the Levi's guy on my bedroom wall, not a picture of William. Sorry.'