On the recent royal tour of New Zealand and Australia, the Duchess of Cambridge's hemlines were noticeably longer. The rumour is that the Queen wanted Kate to have a regal makeover, which meant all Kate's hemlines needed to be knee-length or lower. We'll never know for sure if this rumour is true. But, the fact of the matter is Kate's hemlines were longer than usual on this tour, like in the picture above where she's wearing a  yellow Roksanda Illinic dress. In fact, she lengthened the hemlines on one of her suits that she previously wore during her engagement. So obviously Kate is making an effort to lower her hemlines. But should Kate have to lower her hemlines. I don't think so. I understand that she's the future Queen and has to look appropriate. But I don't think her hemlines were ever inappropriate. Take this Orla Kiely dress Kate has worn on two separate occasions. The shorter hemline of this dress was typical of Kate's wardrobe pre-royal tour. In my opinion the length of this dress is in no way inappropriate. It's not like she's in a mini skirt, she's in a dress with a hemline that's just above her knees. It's still very classy —just because a dress is above the knee, doesn't mean it's indecent or unladylike. I also think we all need to remember that Kate is only 32. She's still young and has amazing legs, so why shouldn't she show them off? Yes, Kate is royal, but I don't think we should expect any 30 year-old woman to only wear knee-length dresses and skirts. So why should Kate be the exception to that? I don't think her being royalty is a good enough reason for her to have to wear longer hemlines. William, Kate and Harry have managed to modernize the royal family. But we still need to modernize our expectations of the royals. It may have made sense for the Queen and Princess Diana to have longer hemlines back when they were Kate's age. But in 2014, a 30 year-old in knee-length skirts is matronly. It makes Kate seem out of touch with the modern world and that's a shame because Kate's greatest strength to the royal family is how relatable she is to us normal people. I sincerely hope Kate goes back to her shorter hemlines. I think they were appropriate for both her age and her role as a princess. Kate has managed to stay so in touch with her former commoner self, so why should her hemlines be any different. Now, the wardrobe malfunctions, those she needs to fix asap, but her hemlines don't need to change. Should Kate Middleton have to lower her hemlines? Photos courtesy of Keystone Press