Kate and Wills put on a united front in London and Paris.
The loved-up royal couple stack on the charm writes TRUDIE MCCONNOCHIE
With an endless rotation of standout wardrobe pieces and a megawatt smile, the Duchess of Cambridge last week looked worlds away from the woman whose very public marriage had been engulfed in scandal just days earlier.
In stark contrast to their usually earnest demeanour, Kate and her husband Prince William, 34, clearly had one goal in mind as they stepped out in London and Paris: to paint themselves as a rock-solid couple. The unprecedented display of warmth and enthusiasm follows the prince’s party antics with Aussie model Sophie Taylor, 24, while on a boys’ weekend away in Switzerland.
Many had predicted Kate would be rather frosty with her husband. But in a jam-packed schedule that included sipping Guinness in London to mark St Patrick’s Day, then jetting to Paris for a black-tie dinner, meetings with dignitaries and a rugby match, the beaming duchess was evidently determined to put Wills’ wild weekend behind them, and prove she and her husband of six years are more in love than ever.
As reported in Woman’s Day last week, Kate was hurt and disappointed after photos emerged of Wills letting loose and bonding with Sophie while his wife, 35, was back in the UK with their children George, three, and 23-month-old Charlotte. Perhaps Kate’s resolve to move beyond her husband’s somewhat embarrassing display as quickly as possible was in part because she knew how hard a trip to Paris would be for him. It was William’s first official visit to the French capital since his mother Princess Diana died in a car crash there in 1997.