The Bride that Launched a Thousand Blogs

Of all the topics in the royal blogosphere, none seems to be more popular than the Duchess of Cambridge (or Kate Middleton or Princess Kate, or whatever you care to call her). While many of the Kate blogs were launched in the immediate run-up to the engagement and wedding, a few have been covering the former Miss Middleton for much longer.

At Royal Blog Central, we currently catalog 14 Kate blogs with many more yet to be listed (email us your URL if you are running one). Here is our rundown of the best ones out there:

What Kate Wore
Rated as one of Time Magazine's Best Blogs of 2012, What Kate Wore is without a doubt one of the most well-known of the blogs and it has received a lot of media attention. In fact, if you follow @whatkatewore on Twitter, you can often see royal reporters and other journalists consulting the bloggers about Kate's outfit du jour. And, this is the blog's specialty: tracking down every single item of clothing or accessory that Kate wears and letting you know where she got it, and perhaps even more importantly where you can get it.

A Petite Princess
If What Kate Wore is the Barbie of the Kate blogs, then A Petite Princess is Skipper. Also well-respected among the reporters, APP also follows Kate's sartorial choices but with a particular twist. APP helps petite-sized women find comparable fashions in their own sizes. This undoubtedly takes a lot of time and effort. Nevertheless, APP takes their devotion to princess-hood one step further by also actively embracing the kinds of charitable work done by Kate and other royals. Right now, for instance, APP is endorsing the Poppy Appeal for Remembrance Day 2012. You can follow APP's creator on Twitter @APP_Editor.

The Catherine Cambridge Report
One of the few Kate blogs not devoted to her clothes, The Catherine Cambridge Report originated in 2007 as The Kate Middleton Report, when they accurately predicted that Kate was indeed "the one." Like the others, the Report has received a fair amount of media attention and its main contributors are very popular on Twitter (@marilynsrylblog and @worldofroyalty). Unlike other Kate blogs, the Report is not necessarily a fawning fansite, taking a more balanced and holistic view of the girl who grew up in middle-class Berkshire and will one day likely be Queen.

Photo Postings: Bloggers Beware

Access to and use of images has been a long-running debate in the royal blogosphere. It is particularly challenging for those of us who are operating our blogs without any remuneration (nearly everyone, yes?) For those commenting on current events and activities, very few free images are available.

A situation has arisen today with the popular Duchess Kate blog, whose administrator is concerned that she may have to shut down her blog after posting some photos and screenshots that were challenged by the copyright holders. The seriousness of this situation underscores the need to be very, very careful in your image selection, use, acknowledgement, etc. Copyright is a legal issue and you don't want to get yourself into a sticky situation. [Read Duchess Kate's post about the incident.]

I have encountered this issue in my professional world, wherein a cease-and-desist letter and the subsequent removal of unauthorized copyrighted material is usually sufficient to resolve the problem. However, better to be safe than sorry. 

Here are three quick guidelines and links from About.com to help you protect yourself from breaking copyright laws.

Follow @HRHDuchessKate on Twitter to participate in the ongoing conversation, or comment here with your views and advice.