Duchess of Cambridge spends £35000 on royal wardrobe – and that's just for ... - Telegraph.co.uk

It is estimated that the Duchess of Cambridge has spent £35,000 on clothes this year so far. But who is footing the bill?

BY Olivia Bergin | 25 June 2012

Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge arriving at Cadogan Pier to board Royal River Barge for the River Pageant. Photo: Enigma

The Duchess of Cambridge might be mortified that her father-in-law, Prince Charles, could let the cat out of the bag when it comes to her sartorial spending, but he is the one funding her shopping trips.

In the coming days, the Prince is due to reveal his financial accounts for the first time since the royal wedding, and it is estimated that the Duchess has spent £35,000 on clothes already this year, a sum only a small fraction below the £44,000 salary her husband, Prince William, takes home as a RAF search-and-rescue pilot.

While Kate is partial to bespoke, high-end Alexander McQueen creations, she also offsets this by mixing affordable high street brands like Zara, Whistles and Reiss into her hugely-desired wardrobe - which she isn't afraid to recycle every now and then.

IN PICTURES: Duchess of Cambridge's fashion hits and misses

According to the Daily Mail, the future king is only too happy to pay for outfits Kate requires for 'work-related' engagements through his official Household budget, which is funded by his Duchy of Cornwall estate.

Kate has shown her more daring side of late where clothes are concerned, dazzling in a lace-back Jenny Packham gown at a red carpet gala and flashing her legs in a thigh-split dress by Roland Mouret.

"She's a fantastic person to work with. She's a woman of her time" Mouret told The Telegraph .

"She's very aware of her position and she's a really nice person. She's human. It's really nice to work with someone in her position. It's… historic, yes."

IN PICTURES: A year of record fashion sales owing to the Duchess of Cambridge

While the creations created for Kate by the likes of McQueen, Emilia Wickstead and Erdem can fetch several of thousands pounds per piece, the 30-year-old is quickly reducing the 'cost per wear' by wearing each item again. Only in May, she recycled a pink Emilia Wickstead dress within two weeks of its first outing, and has even been pictured in a Reiss dress belonging to her mother, Carole Middleton.

So perhaps Prince Charles can take comfort in the fact that Kate's clothing costs probably include a fair intake of dry cleaning bills too…