The Barbie craze also extended to royalty. The members of the European monarchies have also had their replica of this famous doll. Some have been offered for sale, others are a real collector’s item.
The release of the movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has been a worldwide event that has revitalized the craze for the Mattel doll, launched on March 9, 1959 and named after the daughter of its creator, Ruth Handle.
Article summary
The fame of a character could be measured by checking if she has a Barbie with her image.
Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe have theirs.
Royalty is also no stranger to this fever and there are many queens and princesses who have been replicated in miniatures.
Not all by the brand, there are also other companies, even fans of the precious toy, who have been encouraged to pay tribute in this way to some of the members of royalty.
Kate Middleton Barbie
The Barbie version of Kate Middleton did not come alone. The Mattel company, aware of the great historical event that was the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, launched its own version of the royal couple converted into dolls, with their bridal looks of that April 2011.
A year earlier they had also launched a MiIddleton-barbie on the occasion of the prince’s engagement, dressed in the now legendary blue Issa London design that Kate sold out in hours.
Queen Elizabeth Barbie doll
As it could not be otherwise, the British queen had her tribute in life, and in the form of Barbie.
On the occasion of her platinum jubilee in June 2022, this doll of Elizabeth II, dressed in white, with tiara and white gloves, was put on sale to celebrate her 70 years on the throne.
The price was approximately $86 and some 20,000 copies were offered for sale. The death of the sovereign, in September, triggered the interest of collectors who came to pay more than 1400 dollars for one of them.
Princess Leonor Barbie
Those responsible for creating the Barbie of Princess Leonor, was the Russian company AFD Group, who were seduced by the growing popularity of the princess and paid tribute to her in 2019 with this Barbie wearing a blue outfit, one of the favorite colors of the heiress since she was a little girl.
The flowing hair and her intense blue eyes made her very recognizable. The doll was never put on sale.
Queen Letizia Barbie
Vasili Barbier and Sergey Amelkox, two Russian Barbie lovers, collectors and doll creators are the authors of this replica of the Queen of Spain that they presented in 2015.
They chose for this tribute an iconic moment in Letizia’s career, wearing a majestic Felipe Varela dress at the pre-wedding of Prince William with Kate Middleton. The doll was auctioned for charity.
Grace Kelly Barbie
Although the Mattel company did not exist when Grace Kelly married Rainier of Monaco, in 2011 it marketed three Barbies replicating her most iconic dresses, such as the one for her wedding, made by Helen Rose, her costume designer in the films with Alfred Hitchcock.
It was priced at $165 and faithfully reproduced one of the most applauded bridal looks of royalty.
Princess Victoria Barbie
In 2010, this doll with the image of Princess Victoria was presented at the International Toy Fair in Sweden to celebrate her marriage to Daniel Westling in the Stockholm Cathedral.
The doll had the stunning red dress that Victoria wore in 2006 for the Nobel Prize award ceremony. Mattel was responsible for this edition.
