The Royal Invasion: Recapping Will and Kate's trip to America
When most people think of honeymoons, they picture sandy beaches on tiny islands, rustic villas in the mountains or perhaps a slow cruise on the ocean. They don't, I'm certain, imagine the days and weeks after their wedding to be filled with foreign dignitaries and paparazzi.
Unfortunately for William and Kate, their (second) honeymoon has been more of an over publicized business trip than a quite tour of North America. After spending 9 days in Canada, the couple made a quick stop in California over the weekend to mingle with people much more rich and famous than you or I.
As the royal couple heads back to England, newspapers all around America will be buzzing about where they went, what they did and who they met with on the couple's first official oversees tour.
The duke and duchess were in California for only 72 hours, so they had no time to spare, cramming an exhaustive schedule into the short stay. Arriving around 4 pm on Friday July 8th at LAX, the couple was greeted by California governor Jerry Brown, his wife Anne Gust, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and British ambassador to the United States Nigel Sheinwald, as well as over 100 members of the US press.
Their first stop was the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverley Hills to attend Variety's Venture Capital and New Media Summit. The couple sat in as leading venture capitalists and media moguls discussed the technological investments and developments of the entertainment industry. After the event, the pair received a short tech demonstration from entrepreneurs while posing for pictures.
That evening they attended a private dinner at the British Consulate in support of U.K. trade and investment.
The next morning the couple were up bright and early to take a helicopter hide to Santa Barbra to play polo (how British of them) in the Foundation Polo Cup to benefit the American Friends of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry . Kate watched form the sidelines as her husband trotted around the field, leading his team to victory. After the game, Will and Kate chatted with some of the US celebrities at the event, including Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Rob Lowe and So You Think You Can Dance's Nigel Lythgoe.
Saturday night the couple attended a black-tie gala for the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA). The night honored 42 Brits to Watch on the big and small screens. Even though the royals arrived nine minutes late (the horror!) fans were still in love with Will and Kate as thy stopped to pose for pictures and dole out compliments.
On the final day of their trip, the duo took time to greet onlookers and fans outside the home of British Consul general in Hancock Park. Will and Kate shook hands and talked amidst cheers and the ever-present paparazzi.
After that, the pair visited Inner-City Arts, an organization for underprivileged children in Skid Row. William and Kate took a tour of the grounds, met with some of the children and took time out to have some fun. The pair helped the kids make ceramic animals and paint on easels. The couple looked like they were having fun and neither of them managed to spill paint on themselves.
Their last official stop took them to Los Angeles' Culver City to attend a Mission Serve:Hiring our Heros job fair for war veterans at Sony Studios. They were greeted by Sir Howard Stringer, president and CEO of Sony. Prince William gave a short speech, thanking the veterans for their continued service and their dedication to keeping America and its allies safe.
After that the couple returned to LAX and boarded a plane back to Britain- hopefully to take a long nap.
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