With little more than a week to go to the big day, Kate Middleton tried to settle her nerves with a further spot of retail therapy yesterday.
She spent a second consecutive day buying clothes on the King’s Road in Chelsea.
But all around her were reminders of next Friday, including several shop displays devoted to the royal wedding.
In a black wraparound dress, Kate was showing off a glossy set of low-lights applied by her coiffeur the previous day.
Kate spent four hours in the chair on Tuesday at hairdressers Richard Ward with her personal stylist, James Pryce, who will be on wedding-day duty.
She left the salon with her tresses arranged in what appeared to be an artfully dishevelled bun, sparking further speculation as to whether the 29-year-old will wear her hair up or down for the ceremony.
Although brides traditionally plump for an “up-do”, Kate’s cascading brunette locks are something of a trademark and she rarely sweeps them back in anything other than a loose ponytail.
Yesterday she was back in the same chair for a quick blow dry before hitting the shops again with at least three police bodyguards.
Less than 24 hours after splashing out almost £400 on summer clothes from Warehouse and Banana Republic, the credit card was out again.
In Whistles, an upmarket boutique on the same street, she bought a high-waisted pair of blue-and-white spotted trousers costing £125, a lemon T-shirt at £95 and a cream blouse for £125. Fellow shoppers said she had tried on size 10 trousers but settled for size 8. As she paid at the till, she said the clothes were for her honeymoon.
One assistant said: “She’s so skinny, oh my God, she’s lost so much weight. But she’s lovely and spoke in a soft manner and was very polite. Wow, it’s not every day that the future Queen of England pops into the shop.”
Later Kate browsed through the rails at the Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square, snapping up make-up and toiletries and a pair of Marc Jacob sunglasses. When the assistant told her the glasses “look trendy”, she replied: “Great, I’ll take them.”