Prince William (52 page)

Kate took to it like a duck to water. She might have been Diana's double, except that she clearly had the confidence of being older and more worldly wise. She had no training either, but she looked as though she had spent a lifetime schmoozing prime ministers and governor generals, and making small talk with strangers. Like Diana, she was full of smiles and easy laughter, she clasped hands, stretched into the crowd to greet the people at the back, bent down for children and wheelchairs, and never seemed to be lost for words or more than momentarily unsure of herself. When the father of a little two-year-old wished her luck starting her own family, she thanked him and said, yes, she hoped to. A throwaway remark was suddenly heavy with meaning when front and centre in the next day's newspapers.

The media contingent in Wales had been tiny by comparison with the numbers that followed William and Kate around Canada; camera technology was thirty years behind and there was no internet, YouTube or instant messaging. This time, not only was the world's media picking up every remark and watching every muscle, but every man, woman and child in the crowd could post their own report.

Kate seemed unfazed; and as the days went by, and she saw more of the country and met more of the people, she seemed to be positively enjoying herself. They both did; despite a gruelling schedule, they looked as though they were having fun together, which was not how Charles and Diana had looked in
Wales, barely two months after their wedding. The body language just wasn't there with his parents. These two looked at each other all the time, chatted and whispered to each other, giggled every now and again, and were forever touching. William would give Kate's hand a reassuring squeeze or he would place a hand on her back, and always seemed to be looking out for her.

She, in turn, seemed to be taking her cues from him and was clearly learning as she went. She looked painfully thin – a more worrying reminder of Diana, and one which is worrying several of their friends – but she certainly understood what the job was all about. She did the formal, ceremonial bit, the frothy Canada Day celebrations, the barbecues and concerts, and was undaunted by cancer wards and potentially difficult conversations. She met young and old, war veterans with tales of conflict and small children who refused to surrender their bouquets. She got it right every time. And she was game for the outdoor activities. She rowed like fury in a dragon-boat race, determined, but failing, to beat her competitive husband, who, as he gave her a consolation hug declared, ‘There's no chivalry in sport!' In everything they did there was a feeling of partnership.

One visit not on the itinerary was to the small town of Slave Lake in northern Alberta, which had been devastated by a massive wildfire three weeks earlier. All seven thousand inhabitants had been forced to flee their homes with nothing more than the clothes they stood in. They commiserated with townsfolk who had lost everything and spoke to the rescue workers, including the fire chief Jamie Coutts, whose team had finally put out the fire. Their visit had been a real morale boost, he said. ‘I'm happy for the people of Slave Lake. They got to have a happy day today, lots of smiles, and we haven't had a lot of those. It's easy to forget they're real people,' he said reflecting on William and Kate. ‘He's a search and rescue pilot, she sits at home and worries about him when he's on missions – and that's a lot like what we did out on the front lines and what our families had to go through.'

Kate won't worry any less about William's missions, but she does now have a better understanding of what he does on them. At Dalvay-by-the-Sea in Prince Edward Island, on a day of torrential rain, William took to a Sea King helicopter to learn an emergency landing technique developed by search and rescue services in Canada. It's called ‘waterbirding' and involves making a controlled landing on water in the event of engine failure – something he could no doubt take back to RAF Valley with him. He had specifically asked for it to be fitted into their schedule and after sitting alongside the pilot a couple of times, he took the controls himself and gently lowered the aircraft onto the water so many times that Kate must have wondered if he'd ever stop.

On the same theme, the Canadian Coast Guard put on a search and rescue demonstration for them in the harbour at Summerside. From the helicopter deck of a coastguard ship, they watched men being rescued from a capsized boat and winched aboard a Sea King hovering deftly overhead. Even in the calm of the harbour on a summer's day, the skill was clear to see. It wasn't hard to imagine how dangerous the whole operation must be on a stormy night twenty miles out over a black and angry sea. Afterwards they met people who had been rescued and owed their lives to the service. Among them was a man William spent a moment or two longer with. He was a lobster fisherman whose boat, a year ago, had capsized several miles out in the early morning. Three of the crew had been saved but his sixty-two-year-old father-in-law had drowned. The dead man's widow and daughter were there with him and also spoke to William, who was visibly moved by their story.

It was a tour as emotionally varied as it was geographically; and while their welcome was tumultuous everywhere they went, not every Canadian was pleased to see them. There were noisy demonstrations by separatists in Quebec province, where more than 80 per cent of the population speak French. About three hundred protestors carried banners that read ‘Royal Parasites! Go Home!' and other, less polite messages. They were angry about the cost of the tour – said to be over 1.5 million Canadian dollars.
In 1964, protestors had turned their backs on the Queen during her visit and booed her; she has not been back to the province since. And just the year before William and Kate's visit, Charles and Camilla were held up by scuffles between protestors and the police in Montreal.

William's biggest worry was that Kate would encounter some ugly incident on this first trip, and so the media were told there would be no walkabouts in Quebec City, where he spoke at the City Hall and he reviewed the Royal 22nd Regiment (and their hairy goat mascot), known as the Van Doos. They are the biggest French-speaking unit in Her Majesty's Canadian Forces and recently returned from Afghanistan. He diplomatically delivered this speech entirely in French: ‘Thank you Premier, and Mr Mayor for your warm welcome. It's an honour for me to be here with you in Quebec today. For me, as a soldier and an airman, it is a privilege to have inspected a great regiment like the Royal 22nd. Your reputation is as strong as it is legendary. This place has such beauty and history. You, the Québécois and Québécoise, have such vitality and vigour. It is simply a pleasure to be here. Thank you for your patience with my accent, and I hope that we will have the chance to get to know each other over the years to come. Until the next time.'

The plan was for them to walk back to the heavily armed motorcade and make a swift getaway to the next event, but the thousands of people crowded into the city square, who had been soaked earlier by a heavy shower of rain, were calling out to them so excitedly that to everyone's surprise (not least of all his team and the press corralled halfway up the street), William suddenly put an arm on Kate's shoulder and led her past the waiting cars towards the crowds. The Quebecers were ecstatic, and it was a well-judged move – entirely his own – even if it did make the security officers very jumpy indeed.

TINSEL TOWN

For ten days in Canada, William and Kate had been cheered and applauded as the nation's future King and Queen, and they had as much of a buzz from the experience as their future subjects. In his final speech in Alberta, William said, ‘A week ago in Ottawa I spoke of how much Catherine and I looked forward to getting to know Canada and Canadians. I can only say that the experience of this past seven days has exceeded all our expectations. We have been hugely struck by the diversity of this beautiful country: from Ottawa to Quebec; from Prince Edward Island to the Northwest Territories; and now the excitement of Calgary – and what about these fantastic white hats [stetsons given to them for the Stampede Parade] … Canada has far surpassed all that we were promised.' He meant it. They were exhausted, it had been hard work, but every time their energy had started to flag something different presented itself and they were revived.

It had been a triumph. Once again he had looked like a King in waiting, and he had been received as such; and Kate by his side completed the picture. In every situation, in formal suit or jeans and an open-necked shirt, he hit the right note and charmed the birds from the trees. His speeches, delivered with perfect timing, also hit the right note and delighted his audience.

As they took off into the sky above Calgary after ten full days and countless flights, they must have wished they were going home. (The exhausted press pack certainly did.) Instead they flew to Los Angeles for two days, which had a very different feel for them and which, in my view, throws up some important questions for the
future. It was essentially a fundraising trip that was tacked on to the end of the Canadian tour at the last minute – and a very profitable one it was too. Hollywood celebrities, rich Californians, wealthy Brits living in Los Angeles, everyone wanted to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and were prepared to pay big bucks for the privilege. But is this what our Royal Family should be doing?

Shortly before they left for Canada they topped the bill at one of the most star-studded and ostentatious displays of wealth in London's social calendar. It was the £10,000-a-head gala dinner for Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), which was co-founded by Swiss-born financier Arpad Busson. The charity funds projects for disadvantaged children in the UK and around the world, and one year the auction alone at one of these dinners raised £14 million. Kate, in a beautiful gown designed by Jenny Packham costing nearly £4,000, looked stunning, and William, on sparkling form, was there to announce a joint venture between ARK and his Foundation. He began by saying he didn't know how he was going to explain the spectacle before him to his grandmother when he saw her in the morning.

‘I am delighted that this evening marks the start of a new joint-partnership between Absolute Return for Kids – ARK – and The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry and The Duchess of Cambridge – F P W P H A T D C … This new joint-partnership is based on our shared vision and commitment to transform the lives of thousands of young people. I know that I am very fortunate. I have had a good education, a secure home and a loving and supportive family. So many young people, however, do not have these advantages and, as a result, can lack the confidence and knowledge to realise their full potential.

‘I count myself fortunate for another reason too. Harry and I find ourselves in a position to be able to help. I really believe that individuals can make a serious difference – whether it's through wealth, through position, or some other advantage. It is so heartening to see that so many of you here tonight, through your
commitment, share that belief. It is in this spirit that my brother, Catherine and I hope to use our philanthropy as a long-term catalyst for meaningful change.'

His sincerely felt words no doubt brought the partnership a massive injection of cash, but there was something discordant about the sight of such a carefully modest pair among such opulence – albeit raising money for a good cause – at a time when working people all over the country were struggling to make ends meet.

California was a similar exercise; they were using all their many advantages – and using them very effectively. In two days, they raised an enormous amount of money and there is no doubt that that money will be used to make a difference. And they did it charmingly and in the style that Hollywood respects. Kate's dresses were by top designers; she borrowed jewellery from the Queen. At one event they arrived by helicopter. It was along the coast at Santa Barbara: a lavish lunch for sixty followed by a match at the prestigious Santa Barbara Polo Club to raise money for the American Friends of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. It was the Club's centenary year and William said in his speech, ‘My father, the Prince of Wales, and my brother, Harry, were as green as that grass out there when I told them I'd be here.' Guests paid on a sliding scale depending on how close they came to the couple – $2,500 to be inside the tent, $250 to be on the other side of the pitch – and those that played polo with him were rumoured to have paid up to $60,000. He was playing rather well that afternoon and scored four goals, winning the Tiffany Cup for his team, presented to him by his wife. In five hours, in the blistering Californian sunshine, he raised $1.6 million.

That evening they hosted a glittering, red-carpet, all-star, A-list BAFTA dinner, of which William is President, for three hundred at the opulent Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles. It was aimed at persuading American film-makers to use young British talent; and stars such as Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Quentin Tarantino were queuing up to pay $16,000 a table. But the hottest ticket was to an exclusive brunch the following morning at the
Beverly Hills home of billionaire Hollywood producer and owner of the New York Giants football team, Steve Tisch. Forty-five guests including some of the richest philanthropists in the country, plus a few stars, like Reese Witherspoon and Catherine Keener, enjoyed a personal introduction to the Duke and Duchess. It was to launch Tusk Trust's US Patrons' Circle. How much they paid was left to the guests but 45 minutes of royal time brought in donations and forward pledges of nearly $ 1 million.

The assault on California was a quick and easy way to part the mega-rich from their money to help the poor. It was done in the best possible faith and with good taste – and it was an excellent outcome for everyone concerned. It seems churlish to find fault. Yet, having watched him earn such admiration and respect from those hundreds of thousands of people of Canada, who look up to him as their future King, there was something distasteful about the sight of him – he who oozes integrity from every pore – and his intelligent young wife selling themselves so brazenly.