Kate's travel crisis: What to pack?

As the Duchess of Cambridge is no doubt finding out, packing for a trip to the colonies is no easy task.

With a 10-day excursion across Canada -- including the not-so-warm Northwest Territories -- plus another three days in all-too-warm Los Angeles, Catherine is very likely to exceed airline baggage limits.

And it's not as if she can double up on clothes. A daily dose of jeans and a t-shirt will not do (well, except maybe at the Calgary Stampede). People expect a change of clothes at least a couple times a day, if only to give all those media types something to talk about as they slog across the continent.

A conservative estimate is that Kate will have about 40 outfits with her. She could, we suppose, stop in at the local Bay or Zellers for change of pace, but that's not on the itinerary. Complicating matters is that the Duchess is hesitant to bulk up on stylists, valets or ladies-in-waiting. In other words, she wants to act 'royal' without the 'royal' trappings.

That's a tough act on a long tour. "On tour you cannot iron all your own clothes, don’t have time to unpack, can’t hold all the flowers you are handed and, most importantly, need someone to start chatting in a crowded room," a Palace source told the Daily Mail.

The bottom line is that between now and when she gets on the plane for Ottawa on June 30, there's plenty of shopping to do.

So, what kind of style can we expect of Kate for this visit? A look at the past might reveal something:

 -- There's the smart suit (left). Better for Bay St., but since she's not going there, maybe Montreal.

 

-- If there's an Atlantic chill in Charlottetown, this dress coat above could help.

--

-- This a smart number, but even she doesn't look that comfortable in it. Might be about right for a very quick walkabout in the NWT.

-- Definitely an option for a snack or two with the Governor General in Ottawa.

-- This Reiss dress that caused websites to crash and shelves to empty is nice, but we prefer she keep this at home.

-- Nice, informal... just right for a trip to Green Gables.

--Left, strictly for the off-formal hours. Maybe a quick stroll through the old town of Quebec City.

Comments

[Sara Winnett]

Bug spray and sunblock. And something red for July 1 and blue for QC.

[jonathan leitch]

Why would royalty give a fig what simple folk suggest? Whether it's a caste system or class is moote. Who cares? about anything with a "V" for VANITY?

[Ross Peterson]

Please don't refer to Canada as one of Britain's "colonies". We closed that door years ago, and the British "empire" is really little more than a joke now...

[jj]

Tax dollars from the commoners, no doubt.

[Ruth Richardson]

Whatever she choose to wear, Kate will be her stunning self !

[Siusaidh Caimbuel]

The Star obviously has its tongue firmly in its metaphorical cheek when referring to Canada as a colony. Doesn't matter, though, since Canada should opt-out of this feudal remnant. Not quite yet though - let's wait until the Tories are no longer in office.

[G. Guthrie]

The colonies? Canada is an independent kingdom. It's no more a colony than Spain or Brazil or the UK. Perhaps it was meant as a glib joke, but it will likely be taken seriously by that large number of Canadians with a lack of knowledge about their country's will take it seriously.