Kate Middleton became the object of affection for a-many a royal watcher when the daughter of self-made millionaires was unveiled as the fiancee of Britain’s Prince William last month — but the soon-to-be new Princess of Wales will have to do more than wear the coveted tiara if she hopes to become a tabloid darling Stateside, publishing industry insiders say.
Although the story of Kate and William’s engagement was cover story news for PEOPLE, Us Weekly, Star Magazine, and OK! Magazine last week, the royal couple turned in lower sales figures than first anticipated.
While PEOPLE sold 1.3 to 1.4 million copies, Us Weekly managed to move 620,000 copies. The figures were even worse for other supermarket favorites. Star Magazine’s “Real Kate” expose sold 430,000 at the newsstands. OK! fared even worse, generating just 300,000 in sales.
“There were great predictions on how huge it was going to be, but it didn’t happen,” says OK! Editor-in-Chief Richard Spencer.
“Everyone hoped that Kate would be the new Kim Kardashian. Someone that almost guaranteed great sales,” another editor-in-chief said. “However, Kate turned out to be a disaster. She sold so few magazine that you shouldn’t expect to see her face on another cover for a long time.”
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