Here’s to fun-loving Kate... why she’s great for Britain
THE Duchess of Cambridge was hailed a great ambassador for Britain after thousands turned out to see her and Prince William in Germany yesterday.
“We love you, Kate!” fans shouted as crowds lined the banks of the River Neckar in the university town of Heidelberg to see the future Queen and William take part in a boat race.
Kate, 35, who has been widely pictured here cuddling children, was dubbed the “Princess of Hearts” by German media, drawing comparisons with the late Princess Diana as royal fever swept the nation.
The Cambridges and their children are in Germany on a tour designed to shore up relations ahead of Brexit.
Newspapers and TV have given extensive coverage to what they have called “the charm offensive” and have labelled the couple “Her Majesty’s secret weapon”.
William, also 35, celebrated a shock victory over his wife in the royal boat race yesterday and punched the air with joy after gaining revenge for being soundly thrashed by Kate in a yachting race in New Zealand.
He and Kate, who also competed against each other in a dragon boat race in Canada in 2011 when William’s team won, have always enjoyed a friendly sporting rivalry, from the tennis court to the ski slopes.
They renewed it yesterday, coxing competing teams of mixed male and female British and German rowers.
Before the race, Kate had jokingly told her crew: “No pressure, but I do want to beat my husband.” She was given a huge advantage over William after an Olympic gold medallist was chosen to be in her boat.
Filip Adamski was in the winning German eight at London 2012.
William, with a hint of bravado, insisted it was “fine” when told he was up against an Olympic champion as he arrived on the riverbank.
Kate spent several minutes taking tips from her teammates, admitting she was “worried about crashing” and indicating with her hands that she feared zig-zagging along the water.
Before the race, Adamski admitted to some nerves. “It’s not as serious as
the Olympics, but I have never raced with a princess before, so I have butterflies in my stomach,” he said.
In the end it was William who edged home victorious. His crew revealed that, halfway along the course, it looked like Kate was going to come out ahead, but the future King urged them on. “We’re gaining on them. Let’s keep it up!” he shouted.
The couple were later invited to launch a beer festival by using a wooden hammer to crack open a barrel. “I will let you do that. It’s a man’s job,” Kate said to William.
The informality of the occasion seemed to surprise some Germans. One woman asked William how she should address him.
He told her: “You don’t address me. I answer to anything. I’ve been called all sorts of things in the past.”
Earlier the couple had a go at rolling and cutting some handmade sweets and took a few away to give to George, three, and Charlotte, two.
“The children will love these later,” William said. However, when he was presented with another treat for them a moment later, he laughed, saying: “George’s sugar load is going to be off the scale.”
The couple were also given a lesson in making pretzels by baker Andreas Gobes, who showed them how to roll out the pastry into sausage shapes and then flick them over to create the snack’s classic shape.
Kate, 35, did it first time but William struggled a little.
Mr Gobes said: “Catherine was a little bit more talented than William, but they both did a great job.”