How Kate got MORE regal than the royals: Duchess of Cambridge's first solo television interview.

How Kate got MORE regal than the royals: Duchess of Cambridge's first solo television interview reveals her voice is now plummier than Wills' - and that's just the start. Every Royal inevitably attracts a nickname. The Duchess of York will always be Fergie. The late Princess Diana was Lady Di, before tragically becoming the People’s Princess. As for poor Lady Helen Taylor, well, her unfortunate tag became Melons — for obvious reasons. Now the Duchess of Cambridge has acquired a moniker of her own — and it’s certainly a little barbed. To her critics, Kate has become known as the Duchess of Do-Little. Why? Well firstly, because Kate does seem to do very little. Last year (when, in fairness, she was pregnant) she undertook just 62 royal engagements, compared with the 340 of our nearly 90-year-old Queen. So far this year, she and William have had an even emptier schedule, with only seven completed engagements to their name. It’s a startlingly low figure, bearing in mind that there are sometimes two appearances in one day, and other appointments are just an hour or so long. Last week Kate, 34, abandoned the 115-year-old tradition for a female Royal to honour the Irish Guards with shamrocks on St Patrick’s Day in favour of remaining at home. Kate’s new nickname is also a reference to her startling rise up the class ladder — much like Eliza Doolittle, the energetic commoner who was turned into a society beauty in George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. Commentators, and indeed some courtiers, say that Kate — who boasts distinctly working-class ancestry, thanks to her mother Carole’s family of County Durham miners — has become even more regal than her Royal in-laws. Long gone are the days of hot pants, roller discos and see-through dresses. At the Commonwealth Day service earlier this month, the metamorphosis was complete, with Kate appearing in a long grey coat, demure hat, invisible tights and neat clutch bag — the picture of modest royal elegance. There are also rules for posing: Kate never gazes directly into cameras as it looks too keen. No Royal worth their salt should be seen eating canapés — too fiddly — and there should be no posing with a drink in hand. Initially famed for her love of High Street shops such as Reiss and Zara, Kate has transformed herself into creature of couture. And while once reluctant to wear tiaras — she wanted to wear a floral wreath for her wedding — Kate has embraced more regal jewellery, regularly dipping into the Queen’s treasure trove. Today, Kate is confident with a gun — but still cannot ride, thanks to her allergy to horses. All in all, it’s a regime awarded her a most trim figure. The young curves and softer jawline of her teens have been transformed into something far more lithe. Pity Kate’s old friends from Bucklebury. For they seem to be little in evidence now Kate has made herself more regal. Instead, Kate now associates with William’s friends, particularly when at home in Norfolk. Even friends from Kate’s school days at Marlborough, such as George’s godmother Emilia Jardine-Paterson, knew William before Kate did. And the selection of godparents for George and Charlotte shows how strong William’s influence is.