Get away from that 300ft precipice, Wills!
NEITHER was exactly dressed for the occasion, although his suede slip- on shoes were probably more appropriate than her towering wedge heels.
But while the Duchess of Cambridge sensibly decided to remain at a safe distance, Prince William struck fear into onlookers – not to mention his own staff – when he stepped perilously close to the edge of a 300ft drop.
He ignored a safety briefing and the fact that everyone else at Narrow Neck Lookout, a stunning viewpoint in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, wore a harness to
‘He made everyone a bit nervous’
peer over the sheer cliff face. Standing only inches from potential tragedy yesterday, William admired the vista and then nonchalantly walked back to hi s wife, who was wearing £255 Russell & Bromley wedges and a £295 Diane Von Furstenberg dress.
Damian Cooper, manager of the Mountain Youth Services Team, admitted that it hadn’t been part of the plan and that his heart had been in his mouth.
‘I think he made everyone a bit nervous as he took a step over and took a look down,’ he said. ‘I had a brief moment there [but] he did not seem intimidated by the edge or the height at all.
‘He took a bit of a lunge and a few people held their breath, gasped and readied their hands to grab him. He was fine of course, he knew what he was doing. I think his military background prepared him well for it.’
Mr Cooper said the duke, who did abseiling as part of his mountain rescue training as an RAF search and rescue pilot, was keen to have a go himself. ‘He said he would love to come back another time without so much attention and do some abseiling himself,’ he said.
‘He seemed quite confident and eager to have a go.
‘Kate was keen to have a go as well, but she acknowledged that she was not appropriately dressed. She had a lovely dress and some high-heeled shoes.
‘On another day and in a different context I imagine she would be more than happy to have a go.’ Tim Williams, of the Blue Mountains Adventure Company, said: ‘He was calm on the edge. He didn’t worry about the safety briefing to stay a distance back. He just stepped up to have a cool look over. It’s just his military training, I guess.’
The couple had travelled to the Blue Mountains by helicopter to visit communities ravaged by bushfire six months ago, with the loss of two lives and 248 homes.
Earlier in the day police stopped and searched two suspects who were ‘acting suspiciously and caus- ing a disturbance’ only yards from the duke and duchess. Two men, one wearing a mesh vest bearing pro-Israel stickers, were detained after the incident in Winmalee, in the heart of the Blue Mountains, but subsequently released.
New South Wales police confirmed the two men, aged 37 and 21, were stopped by officers. A spokesman said: ‘ They were searched and they were told to get out of there.’