Introducing Their Royal Likenesses, Kate and William
THANKFULLY for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the days are gone when a waxwork bore only a passing resemblance to its subject.
Madame Tussauds in London yesterday unveiled its figures of Kate and William as the new star attraction in its royal section.
And visitors were captivated by their accuracy – made even more remarkable by the fact that artists worked purely from photographs and videos of the couple, who were too busy to attend a personal sitting.
Sculptor Stephen Mansfield, 46, who spent four months with a team of 30 making the ‘new’ William, said: ‘Since we last sculpted him, he has broadened out and we have given him a more defined jawline.
‘The hairline has had to come back a bit. It’s definitely a little thinner.
‘We don’t go out of our way to flatter people, we just want to make them as accurate as possible.’
Three other sets of Wills and Kate figures, based on their 2010 engagement photocall at St James’s Palace, have been produced for Tussauds branches in Blackpool, Amsterdam and New York.
Disappointingly for some, there are no plans for a Pippa Middleton waxwork. Staff said that despite being ‘very beautiful’, Kate’s sister is neither royal nor an ‘iconic celebrity’ and requests for her likeness have waned in recent months.