As a gauche American, my belief is that French fashion designers and the French fashion community have impossibly high standards when it comes to how other people dress and present themselves. So what will those French people think of the Duchess of Cambridge during the Cambridges’ two-day visit to Paris two weekends from now? I cannot wait!! I want to take in all of the haughty sniffs and French side-eyes for Kate’s “Marilyn Moments” and doily dresses. I want to hear the French shade for Kate’s wiglet game. I need the translations for Kate’s attempt at high fashion. While the British press has a vested interest in building Kate up as some kind of fashion icon (she is not), the French press couldn’t care less, or at least that’s what I’m hoping. Anyway, People Mag ran a fluff piece about how Kate and William are not going to pay any kind of special tribute to Princess Diana while they are in Paris, but that the expectations are high that Kate will “wow” the French people with her tres chic bum-flashes.

When Prince William and Princess Kate cross the channel for a two-day trip to Paris later this month, there will be no public visit to the places associated with the last days of William’s mother, Princess Diana. Diana died in the city after a car crash almost 20 years ago. And while the late Princess will undoubtedly be on William’s mind over the two days, the visit, which kicks off on March 17, is more about shaking hands and building relationships rather than remembrance. William and Kate will use their so-called “soft” power to help their country’s agenda for the here and now.

The royal couple has been sent to the French capital at the suggestion of the British Foreign Office to cement ties between Britain and France. This comes just as the country is preparing to leave the European Union after last summer’s Brexit vote. They are following the Paris tour with one to Germany and Poland this July with a similar goal in mind.

Though the trip is focused on Britain’s present, the references to Diana are unavoidable. She visited the city in the years before her death, too. When Princess Diana visited Paris in 1994, she lit up Versailles, wowing often hard-to-please French fashion insiders, Eleri Lynn, the curator of the new exhibition Diana: A Fashion Story at Kensington Palace told PEOPLE.

“[She] was really well received,” Lynn says. “The couturier Pierre Cardin was at the event and said ‘We are at Versailles, the home of the Sun King, and now we have the Sun Princess of Versailles.’ Diana was a very proud ambassador of British fashion.”

This month, Kate will no doubt follow in her footsteps and fly the British fashion flag as well. There will be plenty of opportunity to do so, as one of the trip’s key events is a black tie dinner at the British ambassador’s residence.

[From People]

First of all, I do sort of think that William should mark Princess Diana’s death in some way while in Paris. We’re coming up on the 20th anniversary of her death this summer, so maybe there should be an unveiling of some kind of plaque or something? Beyond that… yes, Diana was beloved around the world. And despite Kate’s attempts to Single-White-Female her late mother-in-law, Kate has never captured the same interest or attention as Diana. Plus, William and Kate are so… insular, if that’s the right word. They’re only going to Paris for two days and their two big events involve a reception at the British Embassy (where they’ll likely be surrounded by Brits) and a rugby game. How are they supposed to exhibit their alleged “soft power”?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.