There are several annual traditions towards the end of the year for royalty. Royal reporters tally up the cost of the Duchess of Cambridge’s clothing over the course of the year, which is always a fun story, plus the “numbers” of royal events are tallied and we always get hard numbers on how little the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge actually do over the course of any given year. Another annual tradition? Around New Year’s Day, we always get a story about the Cambridges’ keenness, and how the next year is going to be full of keenness and this time they really mean it, they’re so keen to work. The big difference this year is the entrance of Meghan Markle into the royal fold, and we still don’t know how everything will shake out in the coming months and years and decades.

The annual story about Kate’s wardrobe costs is usually a negative one, given how little she works and how much of her father-in-law’s money that she spends on the same coatdresses, shiny gold buttons and lace doily dresses. But you’ve gotta think that Kate is feeling pretty good this year – yes, she spent more money than ever on clothes, but at least she didn’t blow $75,000 on one Ralph and Russo ballgown, right? Right.

When the eyes of the world are on you, it’s natural to want to look your best – but that’s left the Duchess of Cambridge with a rather hefty shopping bill at the end of 2017. This year, Kate has increasingly turned her back on high street staples in favour of designer labels such as D&G and Preen. Totting up all the new pieces she’s worn throughout 2017 comes to a massive £119,000 ($160,000) – her most expensive year yet.

Femail estimated that in 2016 she wore clothing worth more than £174,170 ($233,072), however this took into account items she already owned and re-wore, making the total spend more likely to sit around the £100K ($133,800) mark.

Below FEMAIL reveals the new purchases Kate has been sporting on official engagements, only taking into account items that haven’t been seen before in public. These include her most expensive outfits of the year – the dusky pink ensemble she wore to Pippa’s wedding that came in at £11,500 ($15,400) and a Chanel outfit she sported in Paris costing almost £13,000 ($17,400).

[From the Daily Mail]

You can see the cost breakdown there at the Daily Mail. As I was looking through this year’s archived Kate-fashion photos, I did notice that she repeated some looks over the course of the year, so obviously the price tags on those pieces shouldn’t be doubly counted. I think it’s far more likely that Kate spent about the same in 2017 and 2016 – around $150K. Or, about two Ralph and Russo dresses for Meghan! Ugh, poor Meg. One of her first choices as a royal bride and she f–ked it up. Kate has the upper hand here, at the end of the year. Kate looks like a bargain. I eagerly await the annual Kate-is-Keen-to-work story.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.