Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge's hair has hit the headlines this week as stylists and so called insiders have weighed into the latest debate about the royal, whether or not she should cut her famous locks.

Ever since she joined the royal family in 2011, every detail of the Duchess' appearance has been poured over and scrutinised. With social media, we're able to find out almost instantly what the verdict is when it comes to the Duchess' outfits, hair and make up within minutes of her perfectly preened foot steps in public.

Kate's hair during her visit to a North London school was criticised (FameFlynet UK)

No wonder the Duchess reportedly spends so much time preparing her wardrobe for public events, when there are millions of eyes on her at once.

But has the interest turned into obsession? This time last week Kate opened a new facility from charity the Art Room at a school in North London. However, the headlines were over her locks, not the work she was doing as royal patron for the organisation which assists children of school age with behavioural and emotional problems through art therapy.

Every outfit the Duchess wears is analysed from head to toe (WENN)

Speaking recently to The Times academic Professor Mary Beard claimed her perfect princess image was almost a constraint on the Duchess now: "She's been constructed as this admirable, maternal, doll-like precious vessel. Who's done it? In part she has constructed herself, in part she has taken on a job, which has its up sides and down sides."

"She is constantly reproduced so there are lots of things in complicity. You could say that's the deal. We have no clue whether she has made the right or wrong decision."

Admitting though that stepping out with grey hairs in October last year proved she was capable of going against the "perfect image," she added: "But when I saw her with a grey hair I thought 'great'."

But why do we care? Could the interest in Kate be due to her status as a public figure, who we don't really know much about? Much of the interaction with the Duchess is limited to images of her at royal events, meaning there's not much for the public to read from her, aside from her fashion and hair choices. Could this explain the obsession with her looks?

Kate's looks are discussed widely (WENN)

When Katie Nicholl spoke to EntertainmentWise last September following the release of her biography, Kate: The Future Queen she admitted for someone so public, we know very little about the personality of the duchess herself.

"This woman has captivated all of us," she revealed to EntertainmentWise, when she sat down to discuss the page turner.

"She's become an almost iconic part of our culture but yet I don't think we know a huge amount about her.

"We have a very carefully constructed public image of her but I wanted to scratch the surface and discover the real Kate."

It's not unsual for a royal to have influence over fashion and in turn be scrutnised for her choices. It's been happening for centuries, with the courts of kings and queens setting the trends. But is the attention on Kate's own appearance, beginning to cross a line?