BRITISH PRINCE WILLIAM, BRAND NEW WIFE KATE CHARM CANADIANS
[PHOTO - Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attend the Evening National Canada Day Celebrations accompanied by representatives of the National Capitol Commission on Parliament Hill on July 1, 2011 in Ottawa, ON, CANADA]
OTTAWA, JULY 3, 2011 (MANILA BULLETIN) (AP) – Prince William and Kate joined in Canada Day celebrations on Friday, often stealing the show as they were feted by Canadian leaders and cheered by tens of thousands who lined the streets of the Canadian capital to get a glimpse of them.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper welcomed them to an afternoon program at Parliament Hill as "the world's most famous newlyweds'' and said they represent "our unbreakable link with our past and our unqualified optimism for the future.''
The crowd - many dressed in Canada's red and white colors - exploded in prolonged cheering and chants of "Will and Kate, Will and Kate.'' A few wore homemade crowns in a nod to the royals. The royal couple, who married in April and are on their first official overseas tour, beamed.
In his speech marking Canada's 144th birthday, the prince talked of his and Kate's family ties to Canada - in French and English, as he had a day earlier.
He said that Kate had learned about Canada from her late grandfather, "who held this country dear to his heart for he trained in Alberta as a young pilot during the Second World War.''
On his side, he spoke of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. The queen, he said, "has asked me to convey her warmest good wishes to the people of Canada, and her happy and abiding memories of being on Parliament Hill with Thee Duke of Edinburgh one year ago.''
The prince referred to his grandmother as "the queen of Canada,'' since she remains Canada's head of state, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd. He said the queen was watching their Canada tour with interest.
Kate wore the same dress that she wore in her official engagement photos, a cream-colored dress from London designer Reiss. But for her Ottawa appearance, she added the queen's Maple Leaf brooch and a brilliant red hat topped with a maple leaf.
The queen loaned the brooch to the duchess for the tour; it was first worn in 1951 by the then-Princess Elizabeth on her first visit to Canada.
Prince William wore an understated blue suit and a red tie. Police estimated that some 300,000 people were gathered around Parliament Hill to watch the Canada Day show.
A 21-gun salute to Canada's and military plane flyovers were part of the pageantry. When two F-18's did a flyby, Kate mouthed "that scared me'' and put her hand to her heart.
At breaks in the official program, the crowd erupted into the cheer "Will and Kate, Will and Kate.'' There also were cheers of "Prince William, Prince William,'' suggesting that the young prince was charming his Canadian audience as much as his new bride was.
Before leaving Parliament Hill, the royal pair walked toward the barricades holding back the public and shook hands and chatted with the people, some of whom had waited through the night. Several gave Kate flowers and small, wrapped gifts.
Greg Kolz, 33, shook hands with both William and Kate and got so nervous that he wished William a "merry Christmas.''
"His response was 'that was brilliant' and that he had done that once or twice himself,'' he said. "We did a bit of a high five and then I collected myself enough to wish him a happy Canada Day.''
Courtney Young, 20, said William and Kate make the monarchy relevant to her generation. "They are rock stars. They are a modern couple,'' she said. "With Prince Charles coming in, my generation didn't really feel it. Kate is one of us. It makes it more real. And it's a modern day fairy tale.''
Friday also would have been the 50th birthday of William's mother, Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 Paris car crash. In London, her admirers gathered to leave gifts outside Kensington Palace, which was her official residence.
Signs carried by the crowd included "Canada loves Will and Kate'' and "Happy Birthday Lady Di. Canadians love you.'' Joan Milovick, 65, traveled to Ottawa from the Toronto area with three of her sisters and met William during a walkabout. Her sister gave William flowers to give to Kate. "He seemed so genuine, so much like his mom,'' Milovick said, getting tearyeyed. "Very glamorous, very much like Diana was.''
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they are officially known, later attended the evening portion of a Canada Day concert and were visible to thousands via a giant television screens. Kate wore a purple Issa Jersey dress.
Some Canadians refused to give up an unofficial Parliament Hill Canada Day tradition _ as the music carried on, the smell of marijuana wafted through the cooling night air.
They royal couple began the day Friday by joining in the ceremony for people who became Canadian citizens.
NEWS REPORT FROM REUTERS
Monaco's Prince Albert marries in royal pomp By Marina Depetris, ReutersJuly 2, 2011
[PHOTO- Princess Charlene de Monaco walks prior to the the religious ceremony of the Royal Wedding to Prince Albert II of Monaco in the main courtyard at Prince's Palace on July 2, 2011 in Monaco, Monaco. Photograph by: Andreas Rentz, Getty Images]
MONACO — Monaco's sovereign ruler Prince Albert wed South African Charlene Wittstock on Saturday in an opulent ceremony attended by European royalty and the international elite, fanning hopes for a new era of glamour.
The 53-year-old married Wittstock, 33, in the courtyard of his palace at the foot of a marble double staircase lined with white flowers.
The long-awaited nuptials are the first of a ruling prince in Monaco since the prince's father, Prince Rainier III, married the Hollywood star Grace Kelly in 1956, and comes two months after Britain's wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton.
Albert winked at his bride, who smiled shyly, as they sat on red velvet chairs holding hands, while the voice of a South African singer filled the courtyard.
The long white train of Wittstock's Giorgio Armani duchess satin gown encrusted with thousands of tiny crystals flowed over the red carpet. The groom wore the white dress uniform of Monaco's Carabinieri royal guard.
Albert's sisters Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, both dressed in pink, smiled as they watched the couple wed in front of a crowd including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, Armani and opera singer Renee Fleming.
Gathered to witness the event was a who's-who of Europe's royal families: Albert, King of Belgium, Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Felipe and Letizia of Spain among others.
Another 3,500 attendees sat outside to watch the festivities on giant TV screens.
The couple married in a civil ceremony in the palace throne room on Friday.
The wedding puts a spotlight on the tiny principality built around images of luxury and its ancient House of Grimaldi whose family members have ruled since 1297.
One royal fan travelled from the Netherlands to cheer and thousands of well-wishers are expected to flood the city state surrounded on three sides by France.
"We have followed the whole history, the life of the principality of Monaco," said Meina Meyes. "We really feel like part of the family because we know everything about them."
After the ceremony, Her Serene Highness will lay her bouquet at a nearby chapel, just as Princess Grace once did. A wedding dinner prepared by chef Alain Ducasse and royal ball awaits at the Monte Carlo opera, followed by fireworks.
Home to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix race car, Monaco is still considered a playground of the very rich: residents pay no income or property tax, and yachts crowd the port.
But tragedy and scandal, including admissions from Albert that he fathered two illegitimate children, have chipped away at its mystique over the years.
Just days ago, rumours of discontent threatened to mar the festivities. The palace strongly denied a report in French weekly L'Express that Wittstock tried to skip town on a one-way flight to South Africa and that it took "infinite persuasion" by the prince and his entourage to change her mind.
The son of Prince Rainier and Kelly — who as Princess Grace ushered in an era of glamour to the tiny city-state and who died in a car crash in 1982 — Albert met Wittstock while presiding over a swimming race in 2000.
Wittstock, whose champagne blonde hair and sculpted figure draws comparisons with Kelly, is a former national champion swimmer from middle-class roots. She stopped competing in 2007.
The culmination of months of painstaking preparations, the event has generated building excitement in the 8,000 Monegasques who hold citizenship from the world's smallest independent state after the Vatican City. © Copyright (c) Reuters
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