Friday, August 19, 2011

More Lady Penelope than Kate Middleton: Hamleys unveils Kate and Wills wedding dolls… with a distinctly Thunderbirds feel

By SADIE WHITELOCKS



Prince William and Princess Catherine Wedding Dolls were unveiled in Hamley's, the famous toy shop, today



Today Hamleys has unveiled the Prince William and Princess Catherine Wedding Dolls.



But despite nearly four months in production the two replica toys fail to hit the lookalike mark, looking more like puppets from the Sixties hit TV show Thunderbirds with over-sized heads, fixed grins and googly eyes.





Princess Catherine comes clothed in a white gown - a miniature version of the Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen royal wedding dress - complete with a Dower and Hall Tiara and posy of flowers





Priced at £100 for the pair these figurines have been launched by British toy company Arklu targeting 14-year-olds.



With abnormally large heads, jutting jawlines and bronzed complexions the two characters would be hard to distinguish if it wasn't for the all too familiar wedding outfits.



From the make-up to the underwear each item has been painstakingly put together by an array of British designers to replicate the originals worn at Westminster Abbey for the April 29 Royal Wedding.







Makers say the wedding dolls 'pay homage to the stunning best-of-British outfits that so impressed the world'





Princess Catherine comes clothed in a white gown - a miniature version of the Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen royal wedding dress - complete with a Dower and Hall Tiara and posy of seasonal flowers.



While Prince William is dressed in his specially commissioned scarlet Irish Guards colonel's uniform and a replica Forage Cap, evocative of those created by Royal Warrant Holder, Patey Hats.





William is dressed in his Irish Guards' uniform, with his Forage Cap clutched informally beneath his right arm





However, toy makers Arklu - which is based in Chelsea, London - defends its new product range reassuring consumers that the two toys are the real deal.



It claims: 'The instantly recognisable and, some might say, delightfully kitsch wedding dolls pay homage to the stunning best-of-British outfits that so impressed the world when HRH Prince William of Wales married Catherine 'Kate' Middleton on April 29, 2011.'





Jersey Biford, 6, from Hertfordshire with the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dolls. But according to makers Arklu, the painstakingly recreated dolls are intended for 14-year-olds





Daisy, 5, and Millie Robinson, 9, from Suffolk brandish the dolls





A must for Christmas 2011? The dolls retail for £100





For every Princess Catherine Wedding Doll or Royal Wedding Dolls set sold, £1 will be donated to the RNLI.



The Royal Couple's first joint official public engagement was the launch of a lifeboat at the RNLI base at Trearddur Bay, in Anglesey, North Wales.



Arklu were also first to launch the Princess Catherine engagement doll this April.



With a limited run of 10,000 retailing at £34.95 per doll, coverage soon spread around the globe with it featuring on NBC ‘The Today Show’, People Magazine, CNN, Time, Life and Forbes.







Similarity: The new Prince William and Princess Catherine Wedding Dolls bear an uncanny resemblance to Thunderbird puppets with their large heads and googly eyes



source: dailymail

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