You'll have seen the pictures from Kate and Wills' tour of New Zealand and Australia, but we'll forgive you if you haven't had much chance to dwell on the Duchess's wardrobe. You were probably distracted by a certain somebody's chubby cheeks, naming no names.

So let us draw your attention back to fashion, because something isn't right here. We had fair warning – the Daily Mail told us back in February that Kate would be adopting a new look for her trip: 'It is part of a subtle but significant regal makeover supported by the Queen. The Duchess will deploy a couture wardrobe of day dresses with lower hemlines than she has previously favoured.'

What this means in practice is that Kate's knees are no longer on show. So where once we saw this:

...we're now seeing frumpier hemlines like these:

Well, we miss her shorter skirts. We love a makeover, but this one has been woefully misjudged and needs to be reversed at the earliest opportunity. Here are 4 reasons why you should join us in our campaign to Free the Knees.

1. Because Kate's new favoured skirt length of two-inches-below-the-knee is all the rage in nursing homes. It's an ageing length, and Kate is a mere 32 years old. Go above-the-knee, go on-the-knee, or go mid-calf and willowy with a designer like Roksanda Ilincic.

2. Because it's 2014 and showing your knees is not racy any more. Let's face it, even on the trip when Kate's dress blew up (pictured above), she wasn't exactly going the full Miley Cyrus. She's not in need of a Snog, Marry, Avoid-style intervention. She's not going to flash side-boob at the Royal Variety Performance, she won't be posing for a Terry Richardson shoot, and we're never going to see her bottom. We can all trust the Duchess to have an entirely appropriate sense of decorum, and that does not have to involve dressing like the 87-year-old Queen.

3. Because the Duchess has great legs. Sorry to sound like a red-top newspaper, but facts are facts. She's not obliged to show them off, of course, but we've always had the impression that she's (rightly) proud of them. If that's still the case, Kate, then don't hide those pins under a bushel just to satisfy misplaced ideas of royal propriety (to paraphrase the Bible).

4. Because Prince George totally agrees with us.

So come on, Your Royal Highness. Take 20 years off your fashion age by taking just a few inches off those skirts. Free the knees.