ROYAL FEVER
The duchess, the babygrow and the cheeky Italian chef
BRITAIN
JUDGING by the fact it took the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 18 months to visit the city whose name they bear, it should be obvious to anyone that they are a couple who do not care to be rushed into things.
Not even when they are presented with the thoughtful, if possibly none too subtle, gift of a babygrow emblazoned with the words ‘‘Daddy’s Little Co-Pilot’’.
As they arrived in Market Square, Cambridge, yesterday, the cheers that greeted the duke and duchess and the almost breathless excitement of the lord lieutenant suggested that their first official visit to the city since William was given the dukedom on his wedding day – and, indeed, the duchess’s first trip there – had not come a moment too soon.
The couple were welcomed to the city by the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Hugh Duberly, who said there was ‘‘great excitement’’ at the couple’s visit. ‘‘We’re delighted that they are with us. They’ve come to claim the city and county they’re named after. They have been very anxious to come.’’
Fine words indeed, but perhaps not quite so considered as the gift offered to William by a new mother, Samantha Hill, 27: a baby’s romper suit bearing a picture of a helicopter.
Hill, who had brought along her 4-week-old daughter, Beth, said: ‘‘I made it for when his little one comes along; he’s a helicopter pilot, so his baby will think his daddy is cool. When I gave it to him he said, ‘I’ll keep that’ and handed it to his aide.’’
In the absence of any baby news, the visit was the first proper opportunity for admirers of the duchess to see for themselves the next most exciting development on the Kate front: her new hairdo. A heavily fringed affair that brought back 1970s memories of Kate Jackson in Charlie’s Angels, it survived its first outing in London on Wednesday easily enough but had more of a battle with the Fenland winds.
Joanne Baldwin, 30, who spoke to the duchess during a wal- kabout, said: ‘‘I told her I loved her new hairstyle. She said, ‘I’m not sure about it. It’s a bit windy today’. I said ‘don’t worry, it looks lovely’.’’
Both the duke and duchess revealed themselves as fans of University Challenge. At a reception in the grounds of Senate House the duke told one don’s wife: ‘‘I watched Trinity annihilate York. I could manage one question. The brainpower in here is palpable. I’m finding it quite intimidating.’’
It was, however, not so intimidating as to stop William indulging in his favourite pastime: having a go at his brother.
In a speech to university grandees, he spoke of a private seminar on the environment he had attended at Cambridge.
‘‘It’s not the first time I’ve been here. My brother, Harry, and I were fortunate enough to come to Cambridge five years ago, when we spent a couple of days at Trinity. I have to say it’s the closest Harry’s ever got to university.’’
The couple also visited a shelter for the homeless, where a romantic, if temporarily indigent, Italian chef managed to make the