Emma Cowing: Disturbing deja vu as weight drops off Kate

Published on Monday 11 April 2011 15:33

I LIKE KATE Middleton. She's sweet and smiley in a terribly English sort of a way, and anyone willing to marry a man who's resemblance to the Wreck of Hesperus grows on a daily basis must have a heart of gold.

But the pictures of her in Lancashire on Monday, the last public engagement she will make before her wedding to Prince William in a few weeks' time, unveiled a new, disturbing side to Kate - sorry Catherine Middleton: she is, to be blunt, too thin.

Back in 1981, Diana Spencer dropped a shocking amount of weight in the months before her wedding. The Sun ran a front-page editorial imploring her not to lose another pound, while the famous meringue-like dress, originally made with a 29-inch waist, had to be taken in to a tiny 22 inches.

Now, Middleton seems to be going the same way. In the images her once athletic legs are shapeless sticks, her knees bony. Her neck is gaunt, her chest has all but disappeared, and her entire body frame seems angular and unnatural. Coupled with the fact that she appears to be reaching the stage where her head is too big for her body - a trend often referred to as being a "lollipop lady", they are some of the most disturbing pictures I have seen in a long time.

The constantly changing shape of celebrities has, of course, become something of a national obsession in recent years. Magazines are forever holding up pictures of pop stars and TV hosts who have either packed on or cast off the pounds - asking us to judge and form opinions. As someone who has been plonked in front of the public eye in such a wholehearted way in recent months, none of this can have escaped Middleton's notice.

But with Middleton, it's more complex than that. She will not, five years from now, be the faded pop star who threw it all away on drink or drugs, or the actress who only appeared in one hit movie before sliding back into obscurity. For Kate, this is for life. No more privacy, no more personal moments, no more leaving the house without at least one personal protection officer. The life she knew is over forever.

There have been rumours that she has cut out carbohydrates, that she is on any number of diets. I have even heard the odd cruel whisper of an eating disorder. Whether or not any of these are true, the simple fact is that she is losing weight. Why? Because in a life that has suddenly become about restriction, about what she can and cannot do, where every last thing she says is under constant scrutiny, her body is probably the only thing left that she can control herself.

This is a woman, don't forget, whose wedding will be seen by billions, whose invites included a 22-page list of protocol and who could cause a diplomatic incident by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.These are heavy things to have on your mind when you are a young woman in your 20s who happened to fall in love with a prince.

It can be very tempting, when the rest of your life is spiralling out of your grasp, to exercise military precision over the one area where you are still in charge.

For Middleton, the woman once known as "Waity Katie", it now seems a cruel joke that weight is clearly always on her mind. And her rapid weight loss is not making her a good role model for the young women becoming increasingly accustomed to seeing her face shine out of the gossip columns each day. Nor does it say much for "the Firm" - for whom this is clearly old ground - and their way of doing things.

Surrounded by courtiers and flunkies who have their own particular way of doing things, one wonders if Middleton is receiving the sort of kind and understanding support she obviously needs.

For all we know of course, it could just be that Middleton is on a pre-wedding diet.

On walkabout in Northern Ireland last month a woman in the crowd asked Kate not to lose any more weight. Smiling at her, Middleton replied that it was "all part of the wedding plan".

A plan? Perhaps. Whether it is one she has had any say in at all however, is rather less clear.