Even more Duchess Kate photos! Since you ladies seem to be enjoying the body-language analysis on Kate, William and Harry in today’s earlier post, I’m giving you even more from the same equestrian event yesterday. I agree with those of you who seem to think that Kate is just desperately trying to get William to pay attention to her. Even when he just looks at her briefly, she lights up. He’s the alpha – she’s the omega.

Anyway, most of you totally ignored my post yesterday about Kate covering the September issue of Vanity Fair. You probably ignored it because I led with the Jessica Chastain. Or maybe you just didn’t care in general. But here’s something interesting – the VF article about Kate is written by Katie Nicholl of The Daily Mail. Long-time Middleton-watchers know that Nicholl has the inside scoop because the Middleton family (all of them) are leaking like crazy to her. Nicholl is one of the biggest Kate-defenders, she’s a Kate-champion if you will. So… take her article for what it is – a lot of material about Kate that comes straight from the duchess and her family.

“There’s a happiness in the House of Windsor generally at the moment for the first time ever,” a royal pal tells Vanity Fair contributor Katie Nicholl in the September issue, part of a cover story on the Duchess of Cambridge’s undisputed status as Windsor crown jewel. “Charles and Camilla are genuinely happy. William is happy because Charles is troubled less, and he has Kate to share his future with,” the friend adds. And while the pair have dazzled Britain and Olympic watchers the globe over with their Games-related appearances—Kate’s fashionable turn in Christopher Kane at the opening ceremony only confirms her status atop the 2012 International Best-Dressed List—they innately prefer a life out of the spotlight, one categorized by homey activities like cooking and walking puppy Lupo three times per day. Nicholl gets their friends and those in their orbit talking for a blockbuster piece on Kate’s married life—revealing, among many other details, that:

-Despite their lean physiques thanks to deerstalking, tennis, and Buckingham Palace swims, Will and Kate are foodies, and tuck in regularly to homemade roast chicken (Kate does the cooking and shopping, and employs no cook at their home on the Welsh island of Anglesey). They also own a sausage-maker (!) to make their own links, and for the holidays, Kate puts away jars of homemade strawberry jam and plum preserves to dole out as gifts. On the average day off, the pair just potter around, “making tea and toast,” per a family friend who recently swung by to find them living a simple home life on Anglesey.

-They splash out for DVD box sets. Right now, the royal couple are obsessed with The Killing, which they recently devoured in a marathon session—and they often stay in to binge on various new series rather than hit up society events.

Kate has a flair for interior design that she hopes to soon show off: as the couple will receive the keys to Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace (“K.P.”) this fall, Kate says that she wants to oversee the decoration of their new flat—with the help of a professional designer and contractors, needed to completely electrically rewire the 20-room residence. The renovation and decoration are estimated to cost $1.5 million, and will be paid for by both the Queen and Prince Charles in anticipation of Kate and Will’s impending life as full-time, London-based royals.

The duchess’s schedule requires up to five clothing changes per day. The rigorous outfit swapping attendant to royal protocol is said to stress out the duchess—not that the stress shows.

And even though the bill for her couture and jewels was printed in the tabloids with raised eyebrows earlier this year—$55,000 for six months of duties—Kate defrays the cost by bargain-shopping. The duchess also continues to decline the services of a royal dresser, preferring to personally shop for herself at chains like Topshop.

[From Vanity Fair]

So, Kate likes to make jam. And she and William love nothing better than puttering around their house with a cup a tea. Except… Kate and William have spent most of the past few months in London. And Kate really does seem to enjoy city life so much more, what with all of the shopping and hair appointments and the occasional red carpet appearance. I’m just saying… we’re being sold a very calculated image of “Duchess Kate: Homebody” which directly contradicts what we see of her in practice. Maybe she really does enjoy making jam and having a good putter. But she’d rather be getting a blow-out and then stopping by High Street for some shopping.

PS… Real question: who wears that much eye makeup to a day Olympic event, outside, in the rain?

Photos courtesy of WENN.