Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Duchess of Cambridge’s McQueen dress first seen on Tulisa and Kim Kardashian

The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled in a red Alexander McQueen dress to board the royal river boat, but it was a case of déjà-vu.

BY OLIVIA BERGIN | 03 JUNE 2012

Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge arriving at Cadogan Pier to board Royal River Barge for the River Pageant. Photo: Enigma

Tulisa; Kim Kardashian; the Duchess of Cambridge - three names we'd never have expect to see in the same style sentence, but we're being forced to eat our Sylvia Fletcher hat quicker than you can say flotilla.

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Resplendent in red at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee river pageant this afternoon, it didn't take long for the designer of Kate's bold dress to quickly surface as Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, also the creator of her revered wedding gown.

IN PICTURE: Kate's fashion hits and misses

Unmissable as she stepped on board the royal boat with husband Prince William, hawk-eyed Kate style observers at Kate Middleton Style Blog were quick to uncover that her ensemble wasn't exactly a one-off. But rather than gracing the red carpet on a top Hollywood A-lister, none other than X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos and American reality TV star Kim Kardashian were seen in the dress last year.

See more from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Hardly sisters in style -Tulisa is more of a tropical-print, thigh-skimming dress lover while fame-ravenous Kim Kardashian insists on pouring her hourglass curves into designs approximately three sizes too small - Kate can take some comfort in the fact that her bespoke outfit features long sleeves and a slightly more regal length than her TV wannabes.

And let's not forget the accoutrements - an immaculately co-ordinated Sylvia Fletcher for James Lock & Co hat and those trusty LK Bennett nude courts (yes, we all know those off by heart now) - both of which elevate the dress to royal realms.

UK Pound Falls

UK Pound Falls on Disappointing Manufacturing Dat

UK pound is struggling today, dropping as disappointing manufacturing data reduces confidence in the currency. Sterling would have struggled anyway, thanks to the general risk aversion today, but the news specifically out of the United Kingdom is adding its own layer of difficulty; indeed, even the euro is gaining against the pound.

The latest data show that manufacturing performance in the United Kingdom contracted a great deal in May. April’s PMI was at 50.5, and median projections were for a PMI of 49.7 in May. The real number, though, ended up being 45.9. Such a large and unexpected contraction had an immediate impact. UK pound is dropping against its major counterparts.

General risk aversion is, of course, playing its part. Chinese manufacturing disappointed as well, and, once again, the drama playing out in the eurozone is in high focus. An effective bank run has many worried about the banking sector in Spain, and nothing has been resolved as far as Greece is concerned. On top of that, there are still other countries on the periphery that are still of concern.

For now, it is no surprise that Forex traders prefer safe havens like the US dollar and the Japanese yen.

At 13:32 GMT GBP/USD is down to 1.5394 from the open at 1.5404. EUR/GBP is up to 0.8065 from the open at 0.8026. GBP/JPY is down to 120.6350 from the open at 120.6450.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.