Wills paid £200 for Kate to be his 'slave': Former housemate reveals couple's university chemistry

By Louise Eccles


Lady-in-waiting: Kate Middleton as a first-year student at St Salvator's Hall at St Andrews - Prince William reportedly paid £200 her to be his 'slave' in a charity auction


She first captivated her prince when she strutted down the catwalk in a sheer dress.

Or so the story goes.

In reality, Kate Middleton had won Prince William’s affections months earlier when he paid £200 for her during a ‘slave’ auction at a Harry Potter-themed party.


The fascinating new insight into the early days of the royal romance comes from a former housemate of the couple, who is releasing a song about her memories of the pair as students.

Laura Warshauer lived with the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in St Salvator’s Hall during their first year at St Andrews University, and watched them fall in love.

Her song – titled To Will and Kate, Meet Me at Exit 109 – paints a picture of a fun-loving couple who joined in with a huge foam fight in the quad, drank wine out of plastic cups from Woolworth’s and sat on the floor to eat lasagne with fellow students.

Los Angeles-based Miss Warshauer also revealed how the couple had instant chemistry and had fallen for each other months before the now well-documented fashion show in March 2002 when William saw Kate modelling a see-through slip and described her as ‘hot’.

Miss Warshauer said: ‘One of my favourite memories was in November of [first] year and we were invited to a Harry Potter party at this castle.

‘We all got on a big bus to go there and I remember Kate and William dancing together all night.

‘There was a charity auction where you could bid for the person for the day and Will paid £200 for Kate. She was dressed in school uniform and was stood on these stone steps with us all below.

‘No one else was winning Kate that night. They already had that connection.’

Student digs: Kate, in a pink top, eats lasagne from a paper plate on her lap

Young couple: Prince William and Kate Middleton in snaps from their time at St Andrews

Kate and Laura Warshaeur as students - Laura lived with the future Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St Andrews University


She added that all their friends expected the pair to end up together. ‘They always had such natural chemistry and it was obvious that Will had his eye on Kate,’ she said.

‘I remember a college party with Will and Kate very early on during freshman year.

‘A girl went over to Will and wouldn’t leave him alone. She was trying to entice him, and was being relentless. He was being very polite to her, but at the same time, it was obvious he wished she would leave him alone.

‘A group of us were standing around watching all this unfold and wondering how to help Will out of this awkward situation.

‘Suddenly, Kate just walked up to Will in the most natural way and put her arms around him.

‘It gave Will the opportunity to turn to the other girl and say, “I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend,” while gesturing towards Kate.

‘Will then turned to Kate and mouthed in an exaggerated way, “Thank you”. She was the only girl in the room who could have pulled that off so effortlessly.’

Prince William and Laura Warshauer pose for a photograph during their St Andrews days


The music video shows several pictures of Miss Warshauer with the couple, and the track includes the lyrics: ‘Here’s to Will and Kate, on your wedding day. I remember living in the freshman dorm with you.

‘Paper plates and plastic forks we sat on the floor, drinking wine out of plastic cups from Woolworths.’

The ‘Exit 109’ in the title refers to where she grew up in New Jersey.

The 27-year-old insists she is not cashing in on her friends and simply writes about ‘special memories’.

She said: ‘They are both such incredibly warm, down-to-earth people who genuinely care about others.

‘One night I was little upset about something, and Kate so sweetly put her arm around my shoulders, asked what was wrong and said “I hate seeing people I care about upset”.

‘We drifted apart like so many students after I returned home to go to New York University, but I would love to meet up again one day.’

Miss Warshauer’s single is out now on iTunes. Her album, The Pink Chariot Mixtape, will be released on June 14.

In line to the throne: Kate with friends at her halls of residence


source:dailymail

At home with... Her Royal Pie-ness: A taste of Kate's life in Anglesey

By Jan Moir


The only places where the Duchess of Cambridge is seen regularly all over Anglesey is inside the island's supermarkets, such as the Menai branch of Waitrose where she was photographed happily pushing a trolley


Around the same time that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge alight from their private jet and step on to the white sands of one of the 100 islands of the Seychelles, my gumboots crunch on to the white cliffs of Anglesey. Royal tour, here I come — even if I have to design the route myself.

This far-flung and rain-lashed island, off the north coast of Wales, has been home to the royal couple for more than a year.

Yet very little is known about their lives here, where Prince William is stationed at the RAF Valley base on the south-west coast of the island as a search and rescue helicopter pilot.


In the nearby town of Rhosneigr, local pleasure in this remarkable fact is depicted in a poster staked into a plot of land near the base. ‘If You Need Rescuing On Anglesey, We Do It By Royalty,’ it boasts.

And they are right to be so proud. Drift too far from shore on your li-lo in these parts, and there is a very real chance that an actual prince will come clattering overhead to your rescue, adding a surreal, fairytale element to what is serious and dangerous work.

The royal couple live quietly in a large but isolated farmhouse, where dutiful Kate runs baths to welcome William home from his 24-hour shifts.

According to one local butcher, she also likes to bake him meat pies, bubbling with her own home-made gravy, cooked from scratch. Well, I say. I never had the new Duchess down as a pastry crimper and pie maker.

‘Me neither,’ said the butcher. ‘But she is a good shopper, she knows what she is doing. She was in here after the wedding and she bought some meat and 82p of lamb’s liver to make the pie gravy. I said: ‘Are you sure you can afford that?’ And she said: “I can now.” ’

Half a world away, as the newlyweds settle into their £4,000-a-night private villa, complete with butler and yoga pavilion, my tour begins as I head down a coastal path towards the tiny beach at Rhoscolyn, into the teeth of a bone-shaking wind and lightly driving rain.

Anglesey is so bracing! How can Wills and Kate bear to be away? Who needs frondy palms and the balmy pamper of the Indian Ocean when you’ve got the grey squall of the Irish Sea at your elbow and blue hills of Snowdonia on the horizon? Well, sometimes on the horizon, at any rate.

As the local saying goes; if you can see the mountains, it’s about to rain, if you can’t see them, it’s raining.

By the time William and Kate are uncorking the honeymoon champagne, I am popping the cap on my Thermos of tea and unwrapping some cheese sandwiches.
Do Wills and Kate do this, too, I wonder?

Certainly, Rhoscolyn was one of the named tables at their Buckingham Palace dinner reception following the wedding. The couple had designated tables after places that were important to them, such as St Andrews, Bucklebury and Tetbury. Rhoscolyn clearly has some romantic resonance for William and Kate, but what could it be?
Pondering this, I hardly notice the black labrador that gallops across the sand towards my picnic, then snaffles all the sandwiches before anyone can stop him. To add insult to injury, he takes a slurp from my mug of tea as well.

Ha! Isn’t this the very essence of the British seaside experience; rain and discomfort, closely followed by calamity? Look at what you are missing back home, Wills and Kate!

On a hill behind the beach sits the White Eagle pub, a favourite haunt of the royal couple. The large, refurbished site is owned by the Timpson family of Leeds, the famous shoe shop dynasty who have a holiday home nearby. With its sun terrace and daily changing menus, the Eagle is also frequented by RAF officers and has enjoyed a burst of popularity following some much-publicised royal patronage.

Indeed, on the day of my visit, the kitchen has already run out of chunky chips and the chef has taken time out to be photographed by a newspaper.

Now this is not exactly Wills & Kate mania, but such is the potency of their public appeal at the moment that even serving the couple dinner seems to be a passport to a kind of fame. However, once I’d read the details of the chef’s lamb special — cooked with blue cheese and raspberry sauce — I decided his photo should end up on a police poster rather than in a newspaper. Wanted — For Crimes Against Welsh Lamb.

Jan Moir has a cuppa on Rhoscolyn beach. Who needs frondy palms of the Indian Ocean when you've got the grey squall of the Irish Sea at your elbow and blue hills of Snowdonia on the horizon?


‘Oh, we’ve had the press and TV crews in here every day since the Royal Wedding,’ a friendly member of staff tells me.

‘It’s crazy really. I mean, with all this attention, I doubt that William and Catherine will ever come back again.’

At these prices, I wouldn’t be surprised. £10 for a plate of ham broth! It’s probably cheaper to eat in the Seychelles.

Just a few miles north of here lies Trearddur Bay, where the royal couple launched the Hereford Endeavour lifeboat at the local RNLI station last February. This lovely spot, popular as a retirement haven, will go down in royal history as the place where the Duchess of Cambridge performed her first-ever official engagement.

Here, in what looked like a gale force nine wind that turned her hair into a Jedward-style beehive, Kate Middleton launched her own royal career as well as that of the lifeboat.

Her nervous but sincere smiles had the stamp of someone who is going to go the distance. And Mr Aubrey Diggle, the local RNLI Lifeboat Operations manager, reports that there was a surge of attention following the event.

‘We’ve had more interest from local groups who want to visit the station and have a look around. It raised our profile that way,’ he says.

Well, everything helps. Today, the polls close on a vote to determine which local landmarks will make it on to a special new Isle of Anglesey Edition of the Monopoly board game — just one of the ways the island has been put on the map since William and Kate made this place their home.

And it says something about the couple that they have chosen to live tucked away on this island, as quietly as possible. They have a mutual lack of airs and graces that does them credit. And the fact that they never stand on ceremony nor ask for special favours has made them very popular here.

‘Oh, people here really like them. They adore them. They are such a nice, normal couple, everyone will tell you that,’ one local told me.

‘They can come and go as they please. William bombs around on his Ducatti motorbike, Kate goes to the shops. Nobody bothers them, everyone is so pleased they are here. It’s not like when Prince Charles went to South Wales and nobody liked him there. This is an entirely different situation.’

The royal couple live quietly in a large but isolated farmhouse, where dutiful Catherine runs baths to welcome William home from his 24-hour shifts


Yet while William has the excitement and routine of his RAF work to keep him busy, what is life like on Anglesey for Kate? Surely it must be lonely in their remote farmhouse? After all, there are only so many pies you can make in a week, no matter how dizzy with newlywed love you might be.

Look around, and there are few traces of her anywhere. There is much to do for the active sportswoman on the island, yet there have been no glimpses of the Duchess windsurfing or parasailing on any of the beaches. If she walks or jogs, she does it well out of sight, with only her protection officers for company.

Apparently the farmhouse is equipped with a gym and treadmills, and it is kind of sad to think of her trotting alone inside, like a battery hen on manoeuvres.

Elsewhere, she is never seen tending to her luxurious locks in the local hair salons, such as Curly Tops in Valley, Head First in Llannerch-y-Med, Trimmers in Llangefni or the succinctly named Hair in downtown Bangor, on the mainland.

There is excellent bird-watching all over Anglesey, plus kick boxing and belly dancing classes in most major towns — but so far, it’s been a royal no-show.

In the yachty haven of Beaumaris on the south-east of the island, the Duchess is yet to be seen perusing the racks of sherbet-coloured fleeces in the local shops. Yet here, where the local baker sold out of gingerbread crowns — complete with Jelly Tot jewels — and Union Jack cupcakes on the day of the Royal Wedding, William and Kate do sometimes eat at the Bull’s Head in the main street.

This is a handsome pub with an award-winning brasserie selling nan bread pizzas and Thai spiced fish. Sadly, my lunchtime visit there was curtailed by the traditional British catering welcome, always delivered with a jaunty lack of regret. ‘Sorry. The kitchen closes at two.’

One suspects these carefree times on Anglesey may turn out to be some of the happiest days of their lives


Strangely enough, the only places where the Duchess is seen regularly all over Anglesey is inside the island’s supermarkets. Shortly after her wedding, she was photographed happily pushing a trolley in the Menai branch of Waitrose, which has a big stand of Welsh specialities just by the door.

‘She’s in here all the time. She’s been shopping here for over a year. She walks up and down the aisles and queues up to pay and nobody bothers her,’ a Waitrose worker said.

For security reasons — or perhaps for variety, who knows? — the Duchess actually shops all over; in the branches of Spar and Morrison’s at Holyhead, in the other Waitrose in Bangor. The excitement never ends.

She and William were once caught on security cameras buying pizza and frozen chips at the branch of Spar at the Valley crossroads; though to be fair, there’s not much of a selection in there.

For all that, one suspects these carefree times on Anglesey may turn out to be some of the happiest days of their lives. The couple are free to do as they please; she can skip about in her jeans and ballet flats, he can have a quiet pint with his RAF colleagues in the discreet local pubs. The ordeal and tribulations of one day being King and Queen seem a long way off.

Now, Anglesey may lack the glamour of London or Highgrove, but it is beautiful. The sea is everywhere and always different. Big windsurfer waves roll in at Rhosneigr, powerful whitecaps crash against the cliffs at South Stack, far below the puffin nests and the wheeling guillemots. And when the sun does come out, it blesses the area with luminous light, casting shadows on beaches edged with dogrose and the reed-fringed wetlands long into the evening.

On nights like this, Prince William drives home to his bride through sunken lanes where the hedgerows flutter with hawthorn and elderflower blooms, far away from the pressures of the world that await him.

No wonder they love it here. So come home soon, Wills and Kate. It’s all happening here! In the past few days alone, for example, the local papers have been buzzing with news.

Andrea Jones from the town of Bethesda claims to have seen the image of Jesus on her boyfriend’s garden shovel.

‘Just about everyone who has seen it has said, oh my God,’ she told the Bangor & Anglesey Mail.

Cherry plum tomatoes are on special offer at Lidl, Waitrose have got a fresh delivery of new spring vegetables.

Former weathergirl Sian Lloyd is coming up to perform an opening ceremony, and the first female Archdruid has just been crowned and installed as the new head of the Anglesey Gorsedd of Bards.
Hurry, hurry, hurry.


source:dailymail

'It was so difficult': Fergie reveals her hurt over Royal Wedding snub

By Daily Mail Reporter


Hurt: Sarah Ferguson told Oprah Winfrey she watched the Royal Wedding on television from Thailand


Sarah Ferguson has spoken for the first time about the House of Windor's decision to not invite her to last month's royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The Duchess of York, 51, instead went to Thailand where she watched the coverage on television.

She was disappointed she wasn't able to accompany her daughters, Princess Beatrice, 22, and Eugenie, 21, who attended the wedding with their father Prince Andrew.

'I was not invited,' Ferguson, 51, who was caught up in a scandal last year after she was taped offering access to Prince Andrew for $724,000, said on The Oprah Winfrey Show.


'I went through the phase of feeling so totally worthless and that [it] was quite right they didn't invite me. Why would they - why would they invite me?'

She continued: 'I felt that I ostracised myself by my behaviour, by the past, by living with all the regrets of my mistakes, that I sort of wore a hair shirt and beat myself up most of the day thinking and regretting why did I make such a mistake? Why have I made so many mistakes?'

'I chose to go and be in Thailand in a place called Camelia... the jungle embraced me,' she explained.

'So difficult': Fergie was disappointed she couldn't join her daughters Eugenie and Beatirce at the ceremony

The snub 'was so difficult,' the former royal said, 'because I wanted to be there with my girls... to be getting them dressed and to go as a family.'

She added: 'Also, it was so hard, because the last bride up that aisle was me.'

Ferguson revealed she was in contact with her former husband, whom she married at Westminster Abbey in 1986, throughout the day.

'When Andrew went with the girls, we were talking all morning and he was saying, "It's okay. Just remember we had such a good day. Our wedding was so perfect." Because we're such a unit together. He made me feel very part of the day on April the 29th.'

'I really love the feeling that sort of Diana and I both weren't there,' Ferguson, who has often spoken of her close bond with with the late princess, told Oprah.

'But I'm here to say how proud she would have been and Kate looked utterly
beautiful.'

'I think Diana would be so proud of her son. Both of them, you know? They did a great job.'

Ferguson is to have a show on Winfrey's new cable station, OWN.

Her interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show will air in the U.S. tomorrow.

Royal affair: Fergie said Diana would be 'so proud of her son'


source:dailymail

William larks around on a boat in Ibiza with Kate and the Middleton clan in never-before-seen pictures

By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTER

Athletic in Ibiza: Pippa Middleton performs a flawless backflip in to the warm waters of the Mediterranean as an admiring Kate looks on from the stern of the motor yacht


They were carefree days before the world became entranced by their every movement.

This is Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa as they've never been seen before, enjoying an exuberant holiday in Ibiza with their family and Prince William.

Taken in 2006, these previously unseen pictures capture a fleeting moment in the lives of the couple when they could behave like ordinary twentysomethings, unencumbered by the responsibilities they now carry as the new stars of the Royal Family.



Playful: Pippa climbs back aboard as William jokingly grabs Kate; right, the sisters relax on deck, with Kate using her camera


Sunshine days: William, in red shorts, with Pippa (left), Carole, in green bikini, and other holiday guests


They show the Prince larking around with Kate and Pippa, the girls' mother Carole and their brother James on a boat belonging to Carole's brother Gary Goldsmith during a week-long sunshine holiday to Ibiza.

Pippa shows off her athletic prowess -- and her enviably toned physique -- performing a backwards dive into the sea.

Kate, who also looks stunning in her white bikini, is content to stand back and watch.


Heir in the air: Watched by Carole, Kate, James (in the patterned shorts) and Pippa, William attempts a backflip from the boat...


... but the young royal finishes with an ungainly belly-flop into the water


Making waves: The Prince failed to match Pippa's graceful aquatic display


Carole, who won admiration at the wedding for her elegant appearance, also reveals a youthfully trim figure in an emerald green bikini.

Meanwhile, in his red swimming shorts, William could be any young man eager to impress his girlfriend by performing a backflip -- which somehow turns into a belly-flop by the time he hits the water.


Her Royal Hotness: Pippa in her bridesmaid's dress at her sister's wedding


The pictures reveal the extent to which the Middletons invited William into the heart of their family.

During their week in Ibiza, they stayed at Gary's £5million villa, dubbed 'La Maison de Bang Bang'.


source: dailymail

How Kate and William' Royal Wedding compares with Charles and Diana's big day

By Lauren Paxman


Leaving the church: Princess Diana and the Princess of Wales looked away from each other as they left St Paul's, the new Duke and Duchess couldn't take their eyes off each other


As Kate Middleton walked up the seemingly endless aisle at Westminster Abbey in her stunning white dress and 2.7 metre train, millions will have remembered another young bride making a very similar journey 30 years ago.

Princess Diana's wedding to Prince Charles also gripped the nation, and many will have recognised similarities in everything from the red carpets the brides walked down to the way the couples waved to their supporters from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

But there were also some notable differences.


Tell-tale signs perhaps showed that there was trouble ahead for Diana and Charles, while Kate and William clearly proved they are meant for each other.

As Charles and Diana left St Paul's Cathedral, they both looked away from each other and towards their crowds of supporters.

In contrast, the newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could not keep their eyes off each other as they stepped out of Westminster Abbey.

The similarities definitely outweighed the differences though and it was touching to see that William and Kate had looked to his parents' wedding for inspiration.

Similarities: Diana and her father Earl Spencer (left), and Kate and her father Michael Middleton looked remarkably similar as they walked towards the altar

Paternal pride: Both fathers looked proud and composed as they led their daughters up the aisle


The bridesmaids at both weddings were dressed in white, wearing crowns of flowers in their hair.

Both fathers looked proud and composed as they led their daughters up the aisle and both couples smiled as they took their first strolls as man and wife back towards the doors of their respective churches.

Diana and Kate's dresses were very, very different - Diana's Eighties number looks very dated - but both featured nipped in waists that showed off the brides' svelte figures, and both women wore impressive tiaras.

Newly-weds: Diana kept her veil on at the alter, but Kate took her veil off almost as soon as she joined her husband

Man and wife: Diana's longer train meant that there was more distance between the couple and their bridesmaids than at William and Kate's wedding - but otherwise, the similarities were startling


Kate looked much more at ease as she led her husband's hand while they walked out of the Abbey. Diana, on the other hand, had her arm limply linked through Charles'.

The photographs of the balcony scenes at Buckingham Palace look as similar as those from the wedding ceremonies.

But when you compare the scenes, telling differences emerge.

Crowd pleaser: Diana leans in for a kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

And again: Last Friday, the initiative came from Prince William, with him suggesting both the first and second balcony kisses


Diana clearly leaned in towards Charles when she kissed him in front of crowds of fans.

But last Friday, the initiative came from Prince William, with him suggesting both the first and second kisses - and his wife happily obliging.

As the couple stepped back into the palace they gave a wave to the crowds that was almost identical to the one William's parents gave 30 years before them. Only the newlyweds were standing much closer together the second time around.

Royal wave: Kate and William stood much closer together than Charles and Diana as they gave one last wave to the crowds below them


Perhaps the starkest example of the differences between the two couples, though is in their official engagement photos.

Both the brides to be wore blue - to match the same ring they wore on their wedding ring finger. But Charles and Diana looked much more uneasy than William and Kate who were both grinning for the cameras.

Engagement photo: Both the brides to be wore blue - and the same ring - but Charles and Diana looked much more uneasy than William and Kate


Some similarities between the two wedding were just a result of both couples following age-old traditions. Both wedding cakes, for example, were white, tiered and very elaborate.

But Prince William said as soon as he got engaged that he would find ways to make it feel like his mother was by his side at his wedding - and taking inspiration from the ceremony she chose was a very touching tribute.

Majestic cakes: Both couples had beautiful white tiered wedding cakes that were elaborately decorated


source:dailymail

Did they REALLY whittle down Kate's waist? Grazia cover shows slimmer version of royal bride

By Daily Mail Reporter


Photoshop fail? It has been suggested that Kate's waist looks to have been slimmed down on this week's Grazia cover, pictured here alongside the original photograph. The Duke was also removed from the shot


Less than a week after the Royal Wedding, a glossy magazine has done the unthinkable and put the Duchess of Cambridge on its cover with what appears to be a slimmed-down waistline.

On the cover of this week's Grazia, Kate's waist appears to be much narrower than it should be in relation to her hips.

The photo, which appears to have been doctored from the original shot in which Kate was holding onto William's arm, clearly shows a discrepancy between the line of Kate's corset and the fabric of her Alexander McQueen skirt, giving the effect of having inches shaved off her middle.

It hardly seems necessary. Miss Middleton had already lost a great deal of weight ahead of her big day - with some indeed suggesting she had gone too far.

So was this a deliberate attempt to whittle down Kate waist - or was it simply a photoshop blunder?


The photograph has reignited debate over what are said to be magazine editors' impossible aspirations for the female form, with some online commentators saying they believe the airbrushing act was no accident.

'The most fun I had was trying to hide': Sarah Burton breaks silence on designing the Royal Wedding dress

'We are not blind. Of course they made her slimmer. And she is already tiny,' says Lale.

Emily from Hampshire agrees: 'you can tell that picture has been airbrushed.'

Tammy replies: 'Yeah very sad. You could tell she'd slimmed down (from her already slim frame) before the wedding, and it wasn't ENOUGH. it'll never be enough.'

Septembergrrl added: 'It looks like they Photoshopped out a rib. Hate.' And LouWhoo points out: 'The only person who actually has a waist like that is Barbie!'

Website Jezebel pointed out the alleged alteration on their website, claiming that Grazia's designers had 'taken the liberty of slicing of slicing at the princess's already narrowed waist'.

The site alleged that Grazia's art department also looked to have elongated Kate's torso, using guide lines to show where the two photos differed.

'Even on your wedding day, met with near-universal praise for your look, apparently you could use a little slim-down help from the art department,' Jezebel wrote of Kate.

A photoshop expert said the effect could have been accidental: 'It appears that Grazia have tried to clone Kate Middleton’s left arm and replace it over the right one which was previously holding on to Prince William as they left the Abbey.

'In trying to replace her arm, it appears they have unintentionally tampered with her waistline.

He added, however, that any changes on such an iconic photo were ill-advised.

'On a photo that was likely to get as much attention worldwide as this one of Kate, it was unwise to alter it at all.'

Grazia's spokesperson denied any alterations were made in an attempt to slim down Kate's waist.

'Grazia takes the issue of women's body image very seriously. No changes whatsoever were made to the image of the Duchess with the purpose or effect of making her appear slimmer.

'We removed the Duke, and the Duchess' arm was adapted to complete the cover image.'

'Sharp-eyed readers will also have noted that she didn't leave the Abbey with a full-length Union flag behind her.

This is a deliberately stylised cover – but there were no alterations made at all to make her look slimmer.'


source:dailymail

Waitrose-y Katie goes down the aisle again - at the supermarket: Proves she has the common touch as she pushes her own trolley

By Fay Schlesinger


Down the aisle again: Kate stops to chat with a supermarket worker as she shops at Waitrose in Anglesey


She is the newest and most glamorous member of the royal family, and one of the best-known women in the world.

But a dressed-down Duchess of Cambridge was happy to do the weekly shop mingling with other shoppers like any other housewife.

In a loose-fitting green poncho and white V-neck sweatshirt worn with skinny jeans and ballet pumps, Kate Middleton pushed a trolley among dozens of shoppers in Waitrose on the island of Anglesey, in North Wales.


A week after her wedding to Prince William, onlookers said she had a spring in her step as she filled several carrier bags and loaded them into the boot of her Audi A3.

She smiled at locals as well as the newspaper photographer as she ‘skipped’ across the car park to return her empty trolley before driving back to the remote farmhouse that she shares with her new husband.

For anyone who has remained oblivious to months of build-up to their wedding, the only clues to Kate’s royal status were three police bodyguards, a back-up car and the jewellery on her wedding finger.

Tucked behind her sapphire engagement ring was the plain Welsh gold band that marked her transformation from a commoner into Her Royal Highness on Friday - and will eventually guarantee her a seat on the throne.

Doing the weekly shop, Duchess? Kate joins the rest of the supermarket shoppers by grabbing a trolley


Around the wrist of her other hand, she appeared to be wearing an elastic hair band, though this afternoon she let her blow-dried locks hang loose.

Kate, 29, is likely to have been preparing a special dinner for her new husband, who returned yesterday morning from a busy 24-hour shift as a search and rescue pilot.

One onlooker said: ‘It looked like she was stocking up on the basics, but she also bought a few special items, so perhaps she was preparing their first romantic meal as a married couple.

‘She loaded all the shopping into her car on her own, then skipped as she ran the trolley back to the park. She looked very happy and was smiling at people.

‘Most people didn’t even spot who it was, despite her being probably the most famous person in the world at the moment.’

No ordinary RAF wife: Appearing to skip while pushing her trolley, down-to-earth Kate looks as though she just might take off on the wheeled device


It is the first time Kate has been out and about in public since she and William departed for a weekend break on Saturday, the day after marrying at Westminster Abbey in front of an estimated television audience of two billion.

It was only after the couple flew off in the Queen’s helicopter that St James’s Palace revealed their surprise decision to forgo an immediate honeymoon.

They spent the bank holiday weekend at a secret location in the UK and are expected to take an extended break at a later date.

William’s first day back at work – and away from his new wife – was a busy one.

Happy shopper: The new Duchess of Cambridge looks relaxed at the supermarket with her protection officer


The 28-year-old, who has chosen to keep the working name Flight Lieutenant William Wales despite his new Duke of Cambridge title, arrived at his RAF Valley base wearing spectacles on Wednesday morning and was soon involved in two emergencies.

In the first, his Sea King chopper was sent to rescue a 70-year-old man who suffered a heart attack while on Lliwedd, a mountain in Snowdonia National Park, and was airlifted to hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

Soon after, the prince and his three fellow crew members collected four policemen who were stuck on Snowdon because one of them suffered vertigo as they made their way down from the peak.

What a difference a week makes: Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, on her wedding day last Friday to Prince William


The men, thought to be off-duty West Midlands Police officers in their 20s, were transported from the Crib-y-Ddysgyl ridge to the base of Wales’s highest mountain, a spokesman for Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team said.

An RAF Valley source confirmed that William co-piloted the chopper during the rescues. He added: ‘Sometimes you can sit there for three days and nothing happens.

Other days, people get into trouble. We tend to be busier on a weekend when people think they are Bear Grylls.’

The prince is close to his 27 colleagues from C Flight 22, and invited them to the wedding with their wives and girlfriends. Kate has already started befriending them and is planning to join them for evenings out in the sleepy North Wales countryside.

Cool customer: Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, mingled with shoppers at a branch of Waitrose in Anglesey


With no domestic workers at home, Kate is also likely to spend her time taking care of the housework and preparing meals for her husband, who has previously admitted to being a novice in the kitchen.

As this paper revealed last year, she will not take on full-time solo royal duties for some time, as William ‘shows her the ropes’ and eases her into the new role. He will be stationed on Anglesey until at least 2013.

The couple have modelled their first years as newlyweds on the Queen and Prince Philip, who spent two years on the Mediterranean island of Malta where Philip was a member of the Royal Navy from 1949 to 1951.


source:dailymail

Following in Kate's footsteps

By JODY THOMPSON

In step: Kate Middleton was seen leaving Buckingham Palace the day after the Royal Wedding wearing shoes like those tried on by Chelsy Davy today


She's already bagged herself a prince - and now Chelsy Davy seems determined quite literally to follow in the footsteps of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Chelsy, 25, was seen trying on a pair of shoes just like some of Kate's black wedge favourites - and was even shopping in her preferred stomping ground for shopping, London's King's Road.

The royal formerly known as Kate Middleton, 29, was seen wearing the black patent platform shoes from LK Bennett both before and after the Royal Wedding.


Sloane ranger: Chelsy was in Kate's favourite shopping area, London's Kings Road, but left the Office shoe shop empty handed - for the time being


Kate wore the £129.99 black LK Bennett patent pumps when she arrived at London's Goring Hotel for her last night as a commoner before marrying Prince William.
She teamed them with a white cardigan and a black dress with a white print.

Kate then emerged for her first full day as a member of the Royal Family and with her title Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wearing the same shoes again, this time teamed with a royal blue dress and black jacket.

She walked hand in hand from Buckingham Palace with William the day after their wedding to a waiting helicopter where they left for a night at a secret honeymoon location before their honeymoon proper later this month.

Chelsy, the on-off girlfriend of William's brother Prince Harry, meanwhile had decided to plump for a much cheaper version from Office.


Bride-to-be: Kate wore the same black wedges when she arrived at London's Goring Hotel with sister Pippa for her last night as a single woman on the eve of the Royal Wedding


In suede rather than patent leather and with a higher rattan heel rather than the more modest cork elevation of the LK Bennett pair, the trendy Office pair were on offer for a mere £60.

Indeed, Chelsy seemed quite keen on the shoes and paraded around the shop in them.

However, perhaps unlike in Cinderella, the shoe didn't fit for Chelsy, and Prince Harry's on-off girlfriend left the shop wearing the same white plimsolls she started out with on her shopping expedtition - or perhaps she picked them up later...

Chelsy, who is currently back on as the girlfriend of Prince Harry, was a guest at the Royal Wedding at the weekend.

She's apparently back in London for the summer to spend time with him and to work for law firm, Allen & Overy.

But despite a similar love of shoes, there is no sign of her following in Kate's footsteps down the aisle for another Royal Wedding just yet.


source: dailymail

The Disappearing Duchess: I’m going to be a housewife for now, says Kate

By Rebecca English


Just wed: Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, wants to savour being an ordinary RAF wife to her new husband Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge


The new Duchess of Cambridge will not become a full-time working royal for up to two years – because she wants to concentrate on being a housewife.

Despite a surge of public interest in the Royal Family following Friday’s wedding, Kate is refusing to conduct any public engagements without her husband for the foreseeable future.

There are only two or three joint events pencilled in over the next couple of months and aides admit the new bride intends to spend most of her time with her husband on Anglesey.


Well-placed sources have told the Mail that Kate wants to model herself on the Duchess of Cornwall, who insisted on only a ‘supporting role’ following her 2005 marriage to Prince Charles.

The new duchess has told friends she wants to enjoy life for as long as she can as an ‘ordinary RAF wife’ in the rented farmhouse the couple share in North Wales.

Her approach has the support of her husband who is keen not to throw Kate into the ‘bear-pit’ of public life and has cautioned aides to keep her commitments to a minimum.

The only definite dates in her diary following her return from honeymoon are watching Prince William play in a couple of polo matches and key-note events next month including Trooping The Colour and the Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday.

There are no plans for her to attend Royal Ascot with the Queen or join the rest of the royals at this summer’s palace garden parties.

Commitments: Aides insist Kate 'will not be idle' and say that when William is on duty she will be 'pursuing other interests'


Aides insist she ‘will not be idle’ and say that when William, who works as a search and rescue pilot at RAF Valley on Anglesey, is on duty she will be ‘pursuing other interests’. They also stressed that she has a two-week inaugural tour of Canada coming up at the beginning of July.

But her approach is likely to disappoint those who were hoping to use the couple’s post-wedding popularity to boost the Royal Family’s profile. It also provides ammunition for critics who have already accused her of being ‘work-shy’.

Other than working for her family’s party supplies business, Kate has had only one part-time job since she graduated from university in 2005, as an accessories buyer for the High Street firm Jigsaw.

Last year the Queen conducted 444 engagements while Prince Charles carried out 585 and Camilla 243. Prince William undertook 73.

Approval: Kate is said to have the support of the Queen who, as a newly-wed, lived in Malta for two years when Prince Philip was based there with the Navy


The source said: ‘The couple will do things as a pair after their marriage and for the foreseeable future. Catherine will not be conducting any solo engagements. The number of engagements she does with William will remain pretty level.

‘Prince William has a full-time job he has to work round and that is his priority. He is committed to it for at least another two years so nothing much will change in the immediate future, apart from the fact that he and Catherine will take part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year.

‘He is already committed to a number of charitable patronages and Catherine will, initially at least, support him in that as his wife.

‘She will, in time, become associated with her own charities but this won’t happen immediately as she wants to explore the fields that interest her first.’

Kate is said to have the support of the Queen who, as a newly-wed, lived in Malta for two years when Prince Philip was based there with the Navy. The monarch considers it one of her happiest periods.

‘Catherine wants to enjoy her time with William as an RAF wife,’ said a friend. ‘It’s so rare that someone in her position gets the chance to live as a normal wife and she intends to make the most of it.’



source:dailymail

Even the clergy were turning cartwheels on a magical occasion

By Robert Hardman


Double kiss: The newly-married couple share their first public kiss on the balcony as thousands of screaming well-wishers watch


-Kate said 'I am glad the weather held off, we had a great day'
-'I am so proud you're my wife' says William as he helps Kate into carriage
-One million well-wishers line the streets to catch a glimpse of the couple
-William tells Kate 'You look - er, you are beautiful' as she arrives at the altar
-Dress was by McQueen - but where will they go on honeymoon?

Two tiny, softly-spoken words cut the pin-drop silence of a dumbstruck Westminster Abbey and sent cheers ringing from Whitehall to Bucklebury to Papua New Guinea: ‘I will.’

And with that, Catherine Middleton went from ‘Miss’ to future Queen Consort of 16 nations spanning nearly seven billion acres and a large part of the Earth’s surface.

At her side was the young man with, perhaps, a greater burden of expectation than anyone alive. And now, he no longer carries it alone.

Prince William emerges from Buckingham Palace in his father's dark blue Aston Martin as the crowd roars. The number plate on the rear said 'Just Wed'

Unexpected: William motors around Buckingham Palace with his new wife in his father's 41-year-old Aston Martin which Charles was given as a gift for his 21st birthday party

Happy couple: The Aston Martin Volante is decorated with balloons and a 'Just Wed' registration plate, as William and Catherine emerge in the soft-top vehicle

Double kiss: The newly-married couple share their first public kiss on the balcony as thousands of screaming well-wishers watch

Police officers stand in front of royal supporters on The Mall in London, along the Processional Route by the Palace moments before William and Kate emerged to share a kiss

Newly wed: Prince William and his new wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, wave as they travel in the 1902 State Landau carriage along the Processional Route to Buckingham Palace

'You look beautiful': Prince William speaks to his bride Kate as she holds her father's hand at the altar

Newly-wed: Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge leave Westminster Abbey with her sister Pippa supporting her dress


With his own no-nonsense ‘I will’, Prince William opened a new royal epoch, happily reuniting the Monarchy with those powerful memories of his late mother, all of it in front of half the planet.

Prior to this moment, the most-watched event in British history – perhaps in world history – had been her funeral here 14 years before. How many billions were watching now over supper in Sydney or breakfast in Ottawa; how many eyes prickling, throats tightening as that bravest of adolescent mourners now returned as the happiest man in the land?

The sense of a turning tide was as inescapable as Low Water on the Anglesey shoreline.

In the annals of our 1000-year-old Monarchy, this was a very good day. In the annals of the House of Windsor (created: 1917), it was a very great one.


Prince William greets Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson at Buckingham Palace in London after his wedding to Catherine


Royal reception: The Queen arrives at Buckingham Palace, left, after the wedding. Right, Kate's engagement and wedding rings on her finger

Kate, who has been given the title The Duchess of Cambridge, meets Governors-General and prime ministers at Buckingham Palace


The Royal Family has acquired a new recruit capable of great grace and poise under the most extreme pressure imaginable. What’s a garden party – or even a State Opening – after that 318ft walk to the Abbey altar?

What is a plaque-unveiling or a state visit after getting ‘William Arthur Philip Louis’ crystal clear, unquavering and in the right order?

Prince William, likewise, showed supreme unflappability as he gently fought with an obstreperous band of Welsh gold, as he proudly steered his future Queen into the daylight before a dazzled world already running out of superlatives.

Off to Clarence House: Catherine and William drive off from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House

A Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight fly over Buckingham Palace as William and Kate emerge on the balcony

Salute to their friend: A Sea King helicopter hovers above the Victoria Memorial as Prince William drives his wife in the Aston Martin to Clarence House


Lip-reading viewers may have spotted what happened next. ‘Are you happy?’ asked the new Duchess of Cambridge as they climbed into the State Landau. ‘It was amazing, amazing,’ replied the Duke. ‘I am so proud you’re my wife.’

The most striking aspect of the whole occasion was the simplest of the lot: the sight of two people so confident and comfortable with each other that you can already hear them finishing each other’s sentences. They were even doing it on the Palace balcony. ‘Are you ready?’ asked Prince William. ‘Okay, let’s ...’ She finished that one with a kiss.

Westminster Abbey began the day with the flavour of a rather grand country wedding – lots of intergalactic hats, handsome chaps in uniform and exuberant flowers, all capped by several maples and hornbeams from the Highgrove garden. Trees in the Abbey? ‘Unheard of’, said one orderly. Yet also inspired.


Pippa Middleton and Prince Philip share a joke on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the wedding

A very public kiss: William and Catherine share a special moment on the Buckingham Palace balcony as thousands watch on

The smiling bride: A veiled Kate Middleton and then, later, unveiled. An estimated two billion people tuned in for her wedding

Balcony moment: Prince William and Kate kiss on the balcony at 1.35pm

Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange rings in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury during the ceremony

Bride-to-be Kate Middleton arrives at Westminster Abbey this morning for what has been billed as the wedding of the century

Kate Middleton arrives with her father Michael Middleton to join Prince William and his best man Harry at the altar

Thousands of people wave Union Jacks as the couple are taken to Westminster Abbey in their open-topped carriage. An estimated one million people lined the streets

The Victoria Memorial outside the Palace is filled with well-wishers celebrating the wedding

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, emerge from the church after the wedding ceremony with Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton in the background

An estimated 10,000 people were packed into Trafalgar Square to watch the ceremony on a giant screen


Guests gaily tested the patience of the Abbey ushers as they kept leaping out of their seats to ‘Mwa-Mwa’ or shake hands with an old chum from the Army or St Andrews or a royal charity.

At one point, there was aisle gridlock. I spotted Earl Spencer trying to lead a trio of young Spencer belles through a yacking standstill, his path blocked by people shaking hands with the film director, Guy Ritchie, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Marquess of Cholmondeley. Progressing through the throng beneath a blue 45-degree Philip Treacy hat was It-girl and royal chum, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, escorted by her novelist sister, Santa, and historian brother-in-law, Simon Sebag-Montefiore.

Morning coats were the general order of the day, regardless of an invitation offering a ‘lounge suit’ option. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, declared that he had rented his from Moss Bros – suggesting that he must have lost or outgrown the tails he wore for five years at Eton.

Buckingham Palace: Helped by her new husband, Catherine steps out of the carriage as it arrives at the Palace. Minutes later they shared their first kiss on the balcony

The happy couple hold hands during the wedding service at Westminster Abbey which was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, centre

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William wave to the vast crowds as they travel to Buckingham Palace in a 1902 State Landau

Prince William and Kate Middleton sit down during the service after he put the wedding band on her finger

William appeared to have a moment of difficulty in slipping the ring onto Kate's finger... But the ceremony went without a hitch


David Beckham had embellished his traditional wedding kit with a wing-collared shirt and his OBE, despite the dress code specifically advising against decorations for civilian guests. He was wearing it on the wrong side, too. Few seemed to notice. All eyes were on Mrs Beckham, not his gong.

I found myself seated deep in Middleton country, just behind Michael Middleton’s proud cousin, Cambridge geo-physicist, Penny Barton. She was delighted by news of the new Dukedom of Cambridge. ‘Maybe, William will be the next Chancellor of Cambridge University,’ she suggested. Prince Philip’s retirement does, indeed, create a vacancy.

Less relaxed were the official guests, all those ambassadors and Governors-General and Cabinet Ministers knowing that they must be on best behaviour lest a camera spot an injudicious yawn.

I spotted a very chuffed-looking Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, one of the Queen’s 16 realms (the one which includes royal Mustique). Could this be the same ‘Comrade Ralph’ who staged a referendum on abolishing the Monarchy just 18 months ago? It was just as well he lost the vote, then, or he would not have had the call-up yesterday.

Vast crowds gather along The Mall and around the Queen Victoria Memorial as the Royal Air Force perform a fly over as Catherine and William share a kiss on the balcony

The royal carriage glides past the deep crowds after the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey today

William and his wife Kate wave to onlookers as they leave Westminster Abbey after the wedding

Not amused: Kate waves to the crowds from the Buckingham Palace but three-year-old bridesmaid Grace Van Cutsem is not amused by the noise

Kate Middleton and her father, Michael, travel in a Rolls Royce to Westminster Abbey

Kate Middleton waves as she arrives with her father Michael Middleton and her sister Philippa Middleton to the West Door of Westminster Abbey in London for her wedding

A team put the finishing touches to the cake that was prepared for William and Catherine at Buckingham Palace today


Suddenly, the bonhomie vanished as the groom arrived with his best man. The queue for the loos just behind William Shakespeare in Poet’s Corner vanished. Someone had flicked a switch from fun family event to living history. Prince William and Prince Harry had caused pan-generational hysteria on the streets, these two young blades in their magnificent uniforms – waving at the people, saluting the Cenotaph, prompting countless thoughts of ‘How proud their mother would have been ...’

Inside the Abbey, after brief chit-chat with assorted Spencers and Mountbattens, they disappeared to St Edward’s Chapel to wait. By now, the focus had shifted to the Goring Hotel where Miss Middleton and her father appeared to be smothered by a deluge of silk pursuing them into the Rolls-Royce. Michael Middleton’s good-natured calm and infectious pride throughout this entire engagement have made him a hero figure to Dads up and down the land. Here was the finest hour in any father’s life. Might he finally crack?

On the Abbey steps, Catherine reached out for his reassuring hand one last time and he grasped it. But this was no timid bride stepping forth into the unknown.

Together, they strode. Inside, it was the Windsors and Middletons who were setting the example, holding it together. Around them, lesser mortals sniffled and dabbed their eyes and gulped as Charles Hubert Parry’s ‘I Was Glad’ came forth brilliantly. Glad? Here were 1,900 people ready to cartwheel.

He's here: Prince William, left, arrives at Westminster Abbey next to his proud younger brother and best man Harry with two billion people watching

First glimpse: Prince William gets out of his Bentley and walks into the Abbey - and waits for Kate

Proud father: Prince Charles arrives with William's stepmother Camilla

Mother of the bride: Carole Middleton, mother of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, waves as she travels with Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla to Buckingham Palace after the wedding

Showbiz royalty: David Beckham, wearing his OBE on his lapel, centre, and his wife Victoria arrive at the west door of Westminster Abbey as guests arrive for the 11am ceremony


The Royal procession make their way down The Mall to Buckingham Palace after the wedding ceremony






source:dailymailClick here more detail