Welcome to Dear Duchess! Once a month, a team of WWKD writers, experts, fashion gurus, and historians will answer YOUR questions on Kate, royalty, and life. Got a question? Fill out the form on the bottom!

Dear Duchess…

Dying to know what Kate reads when they are on vacation! I’ve only been able to find one article that says she picked up copies of When God Was A Rabbit and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Would love to hear your insight on this. Love the website! – Emily F. from Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Dear Emily, There were some rumors that Kate loves a good girly novel like the ones you mentioned, but it could all be hogwash! The Duchess of Cambridge has said on engagements that she enjoyed Anne of Green Gables as a child and has read the Harry Potter series of books. Along with those, we can share some educated guesses….

Kate loves Downton Abbey…

Try: To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace
From Amazon: From the Gilded Age until 1914, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles–just like Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, the first of the Downton Abbey characters Julian Fellowes was inspired to create after reading To Marry An English Lord. Filled with vivid personalities, gossipy anecdotes, grand houses, and a wealth of period details–plus photographs, illustrations, quotes, and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette–To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.
Why Kate would love it: Other than the fact that it sounds like Kate’s life, only 100 years earlier, the Duchess would definitely enjoy the grandeur and sparkly storytelling of this flapper-era book.

Kate loves art history…

Try: Letters on Cezanne by Ranier Maria Rilke
From Amazon: Virtually every day in the fall of 1907, Rainer Maria Rilke returned to a Paris gallery to view a Cezanne exhibition. Nearly as frequently, he wrote dense and joyful letters to his wife, Clara Westhoff, expressing his dismay before the paintings and his ensuing revelations about art and life.
Why Kate would love it: An art lover struggles to find love for Cezanne, the legendary artist. Through frequent visits, he eventually comes to appreciate the artist and his lessons. We could see Kate enjoying this book as an interesting take on a classic artist.

Kate loves the great outdoors…

Try: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
From Amazon: At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone.
Why Kate would love it: With the beautiful Pacific Crest Trail as a backdrop, and a heartbroken woman as the protagonist, we think Kate would love the warm and moving tale. Reese Witherspoon stars in the movie adaptation, and we hear the two ladies are buddy-buddy.

We hope this inspires your next book purchase, Emily! Happy reading!

Most sincerely,

xx Duchess

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