DAVID CRUMP/AFP/GettyImagesIn case you haven't been keeping up on your Royals, well, first of all, shame on you! You are missing out on some seriously fabulous hats. And, second of all, you're probably out of the loop on the Jubilee going down across the pond.
Queen Elizabeth II is in the midst of her milestone 60th year on the throne (and looking just as fierce as ever, gotta say!), and Britain is celebrating in a truly fab way—just yesterday the famous family floated down the river Thames on a royal barge!
But while all focus should be on Her Royal Heiress, we hear there's been quite a bit of rumbling about another royal chick: Kate Middleton! So what's on everyone's tongues?
"Sure, all eyes are on Queen Elizabeth, but everyone is also looking ahead, wondering what kind of queen Catherine will make," a palace source reveals to us.
The Jubilee marks a virtual lifetime on the throne for HRH, and some would claim her longevity will almost certainly give her son, Charles, a shorter reign and her grandson, William (that'd be Prince William or, as you now may know him, the Duke of Cambridge) a lengthy one.
So how will Queen Catherine—as she'll eventually be titled—adapt to the pressures of the monarchy?
"Will she be a voice of wisdom as King William handles matters of state and Parliament?" our source speculates. "Or will she remain mere eye candy with the excess baggage?"
Well, she's definitely got the chic thing down already, so we're not too worried about her continuing her tour-de-style no matter what type of crown sits upon her perfectly coiffed head. But we expect she'll be more than just a nice petticoat and designer shoes.
As for that baggage, our palace insider continues:
"Her brother sells cakes with rude icing slogans (they've since been removed from his site), her cousin is a burlesque striptease artist trying to land her own reality show in the U.S., and her sister increasingly looks like she's going to 'do a Fergie' and opt for a commercially driven life after her first book hits stores later this year."
All of which our source has told us in the past weighs more on Catherine than, say, the public interest in whether she'll have a baby anytime soon.
"In other words, can Kate possibly hope to retain the dignity of one of the world's oldest and most enduring monarchies?" our source anonymously asks.
Our vote? Yes. The Duchess is much more powerful than many give her credit for. Just wait, royal watchers.