Are These William and Kate Royal Wedding Barbie Dolls Really Necessary?
In honor of Prince William and Kate Middleton's first wedding anniversary, Mattel is releasing a set of Royal Wedding Barbie dolls. Is this something we really need? Really?
-Lucia Peters, BettyConfidential.com
Prince "the Duke of Cambridge" William and Kate "Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge" Middleton have been made into dolls before. Several times, actually. The first was a limited-edition (and consequently no longer available) beauty from the Franklin Mint, released in honor of William and Kate's engagement. The miniature Kate was high-quality and came decked out in that gorgeous blue dress made famous by their engagement photos. It cost a pretty penny-$195, to be exact-and it looked like this:
For those of us who didn't have $195 to burn, though, there was this wack-o looking knock-off from a company called Arklu Ltd. And it's… well, just take a look for yourself:
To say that it is not as good as the one from the Franklin Mint would be the most ridiculous of understatements. And although its price falls way under the $200 mark, it still costs £34.95, or roughly $57. Does it look like it's worth $57 to you? Yeah, me neither. But in spite of the fact that this version of Engagement Kate is both hideous and slightly terrifying (is it just me, or is her head really, REALLY big for her body?), Arklu didn't stop there. Oh no, they did not. Because shortly thereafter, they released a set of Royal Wedding dolls which are, if possible, even scarier:
Pardon me while I run screaming in the other direction. These dolls can either be purchased as a pair for £99.95 (about $165) or separately-or at least, Kate can be purchased separately (for £49.95 or $82); William appears not to have earned the right to be sold on his own. If you want him, it's both of them or nothing.
So we already have these three occurrences of William and Kate dolls. Do we really need another? Apparently somebody thought we did, because Mattel is celebrating their one year anniversary with a representation of their wedding in Barbie doll form. According to InStyle, the Kate Barbie is dressed in a mini version of her Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding gown, complete with an itty-bitty tiara and sapphire engagement ring, while the Prince William Ken's military uniform comes with tiny medals attached to it. While I'm still not sure whether these things are entirely necessary, at least they're not as scary-looking as the Arklu dolls. Take a peek here:
Bad news if you're in the US, though: Right now, there don't appear to be any plans to release the dolls over here. If you happen to be in the UK, however, you can preorder the dolls onAmazon.co.uk; they cost £99.99 (about $155) and will be released on April 7, 2012 just in time for their anniversary on April 29. Think there's a Pippa or a Prince Harry doll in the works yet?
Tell us: Do you feel compelled to own a set of William and Kate Barbies? Why or why not?
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