Duchess of Cambridge's hairdresser says style worn by Jennifer Aniston is still the one women want

Her bouncing waves regularly top polls as the hairstyle most desired by women.

But the man who looks after Kate Middleton’s hair has confessed that in the race for most popular haircut, the Duchess of Cambridge is beaten by ‘The Rachel’.

Twenty years after it was first made famous by Jennifer Aniston in hit American sitcom Friends, the style is still regarded by Richard Ward as the one that women really wanted.

Most wanted: Jennifer Aniston sporting the famous Rachel cut in 1996, left, and, right, Kate Middleton whose hair hairdresser Richard Ward praised as 'beautiful'

The Chelsea-based hairdresser, whose team has tended to the tresses of not just Kate but the entire Middleton family, was speaking at the launch of shopping site tothetops.com .

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He said: ‘I really don’t remember another time in my whole career where people have come in and asked for a haircut as many times as they have asked for a Rachel. Not even people wanting their haircut like Kate Middleton and she has the most beautiful hair.’

He added the only other celebrity style to have come close to The Rachel was the bob Victoria Beckham sported a few years ago.

The royal-mother-to-be is a loyal client at Mr Ward’s salon and it is believed he even cut in the fringe she debuted last November days before she confirmed she was pregnant.

Mr Ward said: “I’ve done so many celebrity haircuts that I’m proud of- Kate Middleton being one of them but, you know what, if I could actually create something like the Rachel – Jennifer Aniston’s haircut in Friends - or Meg Ryan’s haircut, those kind of classic haircuts I wouldn’t work any more.’

Last week the man behind Miss Aniston’s most famous hairstyle revealed he was high when he created ‘The Rachel’.

Chris McMillan made the confession during an interview saying 'I'm 14 years sober - so I feel safe enough to say that.'

Mr McMillan created the cut for Miss Aniston, 44, for the role of Rachel Green in hit TV show Friends, between the first and second seasons of the sitcom.

The Rachel duly became one of the most requested styles in salons around the world during the 1990s and according to one poll remains the most popular of all time among British women.

In interviews with the US media, Mr McMillan said he designed the look because Miss Aniston’s hair was originally long and frizzy.