Saturday, April 9, 2011

Even more Kate & William magazines

Just back from my Saturday trip to Borders, where I found several more new magazines commemorating the marriage of Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton.   I did not see the three special magazines available through Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

These magazines are showing up in bookstores, newsstands, even in supermarkets here in the USA, and probably in Canada as well ... and, of course, an even larger selection of magazines are available for sale in the United Kingdom.

The first magazine is titled All About Kate, a 68-page glossy publication from WU Magazine, based in Paramus, New Jersey. (On Route 4, no less, in Bergen County ... and I learned how to shop in Paramus, which in Indian means shopping center.  Only kidding, but Paramus has more shopping malls per square mile than anywhere else in the States.)

This magazine is focused largely on Kate, and not Kate and William.  The writers have focused on her life, her family, why America is crazy about Kate, her style, her love of hats, where she and William will live, her charity work, Kate's love for William and why it will last, and the upcoming movie, produced by Lifetime, based on their romance.

There is nothing new in this publication -- just mix the usual froth with the familiar photographs and put together a commemorative magazine that will be on sale until June 30.

Legacy Magazines, a London-based firm, is the publishers of The Royal Wedding Exclusive Collectors' edition.  Over 100 pages, this glossy magazine includes articles  on Kate as a fairy tale princess, the romance, the engagement and engagement ring, a profile of previous wedding dresses, Diana's legacy (got to throw in a chapter on William's mother), Westminster Abbey, the route, and a guide to souvenirs sold through Legacy's website.

The price is $9.99.  I am not sure if the magazine is also available in the UK, as the website lists only the US price, but the prices for the wedding commemoratives are in sterling.  Lots of photos.  A bit more quality control would have been appreciated, as the editors could not decide whether Princess Margaret's husband was Anthony or Antony.   The same type of mistake is made with Princess Anne's first husband: It is Mark Phillips, not Mark Philips.   Sloppy! 

This volume is the first of two magazines that Legacy will publish in connection with the wedding.  The second  issue will be available after the wedding.

http://www.legacymagazines.co.uk/index.php


Another US-published magazine is William & Kate A Royal Love Story.  This is a 100-page glossy magazine that claims to include 100's of private photos (yes, that is what it says on the cover.)    FYI:  no private photos, just the usual stuff from the news agencies. 

The usual fluff -- the romance, growing up, the special bond between William and Harry, fashion, the wedding (pure speculative stuff, not based on fact), the Lifetime movie, and a chapter "Concert for Diana," about the concert William and Harry arranged for the tenth anniversary of their mother's death (and what does this have to do with William and Kate's wedding?   Absolutely nothing.

This special issue was published by Bauer Publications as a part of their Life Story series.  The price is $9.95.  The magazine will be on sale until July 4.

 http://www.legacymagazines.co.uk/



A more substantial publication is William & Kate A Royal Souvenir, published by Pitkins.  Anne Bullen wrote the text, and royal biographer Brian Hoey wrote the forward, provided editorial support.
This 64-page book was published to commemorate William and Kate's engagement.   Nicely written chapters on the romance, which began at university, to profiles of the prince and his soon-to-be princess.  No need to include chapters on the late Diana, Princess of Wales.  

This is one of the best magazine-cum-books published so far, and this is a keeper.    The newsstand price is $14.95.  The UK price is £7.99.  Well worth the price.  

http://www.amazon.com/William-Kate-Royal-Souvenir-Pitkin/dp/1841653535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302381101&sr=1-1


http://www.amazon.co.uk/William-Kate-Pitkin-Royal-Souvenir/dp/1841653535/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302381243&sr=1-2

I expect Pitkins will also publish a wedding commemorative volume.

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