Kate Middleton's Memorabilia to Rival Princess Diana's

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, February 23, 2012

Memorabilia surrounding the Duchess of Cambridge, from dolls to toilet seats, has raked in almost as much money as that of items featuring Princess Diana.

Kate Middleton memorabilia also includes the sheer dress she wore during a charity fashion show at St. Andrews University in 2002. The dress is the source of Prince William's famous whisper, "Wow, Kate's hot!" while still a fellow student at the university. It was later sold at auction for over $86,000.

"When Kate Middleton walked down that catwalk, the audience gasped," a secretary at St. Andrews, Barbara Lessels, recounted to Daily Mail.

"She was absolutely stunning. William was completely entranced," said Lessels.

Currently, even the fashion event's program is of value to Kate Middleton fans, and will be sold at Sunday's "Antique Roadshow," according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.

"Afterwards [Prince William] had left his program and took it before everything was cleared away," added Lessels. "What's more- it had his thumbprint on it!"

The episode featuring the fashion show programs will air in the U.K. Sunday Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. The U.S. version of "Antique Roadshow" airs on PBS and features items sold in many different countries, but will not cover the fashion show programs.

Other memorabilia featuring the Duchess of Cambridge include Will and Kate tea bags, Royal Wedding plates, Will and Kate press-on nails, and even Will and Kate iPhone covers, among many more items.

As Kate Middleton memorabilia continues to fly off the shelves, the Duchess has also become a fashion icon. She wore a chocolate-brown wool overcoat by Hobbs on Valentine's Day last week and the coat was reported by Britain's Mirror to have sold out just one hour after Kate was pictured wearing it.

The Duchess of Cambridge's Valentine's Day look was a testament to the mounting marketing power she has. While visiting two schools in Oxford on Tuesday, Kate was spotted wearing a brown Orla Kiely coat dress with brown ankle boots. The coat also saw a significant increase in sales just hours after the event.

SEE VIDEO OF STORES SELLING ROYAL WEDDING MERCHANDISE BEFORE THE WEDDING