Since opening on July 23, the exhibit at Buckingham Palace of Kate Middleton's wedding dress — that garment that reignited excitement in the monarchy more than any royal-blooded person ever could — has drawn more than 354,000 visitors, with ticket sales expected to reach around $13 million. The exhibit is likely to only add to the list of records broken by this summer's royal wedding, which already includes television viewership and, probably, Pippa's butt's near-instantaneous icon status. Last summer 413,000 people visited the palace — the most since 420,000 went in 1994.

Profits from the $27 tickets (kids under 17 are only $16) go to William and Kate's wedding charity fund, as well as the people who need it most: the royal family! They will use their portion of the funds to spruce up their stuff, called the Royal Collection, which includes "palaces, residences and extensive art collections." The queen decided to open up the palace to visitors in 1993 to raise money for the restoration of Windsor Castle after it was badly damaged in a large fire. That said, only the Queen could look at the exhibit and call it "horrible" and "creepy" instead of seeing dollar signs and new settees.

Kate's royal wedding dress set to make £8m as record numbers flock to Buckingham Palace [Daily Mail UK]