Kate Middleton’s popularity causes tourism surge in UK

Royal residence Kensington ­Palace is braced for a second bumper summer of tourists after attracting a record number of ­visitors in the past year on the back of the Kate Effect.

The palace was once dubbed the Aunt Heap by Edward VIII because of the number of elderly relatives housed there.

But sources are predicting that worldwide interest in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their baby will lead to a huge influx of tourists this summer.

Officials at Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that runs the unoccupied parts of the building open to the public, yesterday ­revealed that Kensington Palace had a record 404,000 visitors in the year to the end of March – almost ­double the previous period.

The upsurge, put down to a £12million revamp and ­William and Kate’s decision to live there, defied usual visitor trends.

Numbers at tourist attractions normally fall in cities hosting the Olympics before experiencing a strong bounce the following year.

Other attractions, including the Tower of London, saw this. “We bucked the trend,” said ­palace spokeswoman Katrina Whenham.

She is now hoping to at least match last year’s record amid royal baby fever and a new show featuring glamorous dresses worn by the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana, which opens to the public today.

She said: “With a royal baby coming along lots of people are going to gravitate towards Kensington because this is going to be the Duke and Duchess’s new home and court.

“They won’t see them in the palace, though they might see them in Kensington Gardens and perhaps arriving and leaving here.”

The Queen, Margaret and Diana all lived at Kensington Palace at various times.

Officials hope to mount exhibitions reflecting the lives of William, Kate and their baby in the next few years, although there have yet to be discussions.