That’s the way to work it, William
Workshy? the scrummy Moi? mummy Kate shows Paris – and her sheepish husband – how to behave like a real royal
EVEN by the Duchess of Cambridge’s standards, it was a bravura Royal performance. On a drizzly day beneath the Eiffel Tower, Kate even managed to hurl a rugby ball with graceful aplomb.
Prince William observed the action admiringly, then did his best to follow his wife’s lead.
Courteous, solicitous, always smiling, Kate spread the charm thickly on the second day of the couple’s Paris visit, putting all those she met at ease.
After the furore over William’s decision to miss a Commonwealth Day event to go skiing with friends, it was almost as though she was giving her husband an object lesson in duty. But if at times William failed to match his wife’s enthusiasm and seemed a little downcast, it was perhaps not surprising. After all, this was his first official visit to Paris since his mother’s death there almost 20 years ago.
Before watching the France versus Wales Six Nations match at the Stade de France, the couple joined a children’s rugby training session at the foot of the capital’s most famous landmark.
Dressed in a Chanel coat, the Duchess joined in with gusto, exchanging passes with one child and earning praise from the youngsters’ coach.
It had been a busy two days for William – he attended four separate engagements yesterday – following the leaking of mobile phone footage of him dancing at a nightclub in the Swiss resort of Verbier. Kate was reported to be furious.
And William’s hard work will continue in the UK tomorrow when he resumes his duties as a helicopter pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service.
After the rugby, Kate made a beeline for a group of children waiting patiently nearby with their parents. William stood behind her, interlocking his fingers, as his wife bent down to offer her outstretched hand to a little girl. After a few moments, he bent down too, delighting the crowd.
Kate revealed to one mother that four-year-old Prince George has a toy rabbit called Bun Bun to keep him company while his parents are away.
The day began with a sombre reminder of the anguish France has faced as a result of recent terror attacks. During a visit to military hospital Les Invalides, the Duke and Duchess met two survivors of the Bataclan shootings, praising their bravery and ‘amazing progress’.
Later, William and Kate reawakened their shared love of art with a visit to Paris’s famous Musee d’Orsay, home to the world’s largest collection of Impressionist masterpieces.
Courteous and always smiling, the Duchess put everyone at ease