Duke and Duchess of Cambridge return to the UK after successful tour of Canada and visit to California

Prince William and Kate arrived back in the UK on Monday morning after an immensely successful royal tour of Canada and royal visit to California USA.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had an extremely busy schedule for the majority of their 11 day trip only taking a couple for days out for themselves to enjoy privately.

The Royal couple have been superb ambassadors for the United Kingdom promoting British businesses, arts and charities. It has been incredible how the Canadians and Americans have welcomed William and Kate into their hearts and minds.

Now the William and Kate will return to quiet and much more private life the couple lead in Anglesey where Prince William will resume his role as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot. It has been an exceptionally busy year for them, ever since the Royal Wedding was announced towards the end of last year.

William and Kate's last couple of days in Canada

The Royal Wedding seems a long way off now and for the last leg of the 9 day Royal Tour of Canada, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at Calgary in the Province of Alberta.

On arrival Prince William and Kate were greeted by local dignitaries but the most touching moment was when Diamond Marshall, a six year old girl who has advanced cancer ran up to Kate and wrapped her arms around the Duchess.

It was a magical moment for both of them and no doubt for countless other people watching.

The Royal couple were presented with cowboy boots and 10 gallon hats which they wore and for most of their visit to Calgary were dressed much more casually in jeans and chequered shirts.

In Prince William's last speech whilst in Canada he told guests "In 1939, my great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, said of her first tour of Canada with her husband, King George VI, 'Canada made us'. Catherine and I now know very well what she meant....

Canada has far surpassed all that we were promised. Our promise to Canada is that we shall return." Prince William also once again paid tribute to Canada's military and its role in Afghanistan.

William and Kate's trip to Calgary coincided with the Calgary Stampede, an annual rodeo, parade, exhibition and festival which is known as 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' and which attracts over one million visitors per year. 

After launching the Calgary Stampede, the couple visited Calgary Zoo for a reception hosted by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach who highlighed some of the research, particularly aimed at protecting the environment, taking place in the province.

Then on Friday afternoon the royal couple flew to California in the USA for a their three day visit.

Prince William and Kate are on their way to Canada!

Prince William and Kate boarded a Canadian Forces plane earlier today at Heathrow Airport and are now on their way to Ottawa for the start of their 9 day Canadian tour. After which they will visit California in the USA.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are 'touring' Canada as oppose to 'visiting' the USA because Canada is part of the Commonwealth, in other words it is because Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state for Canada.

William and Kate will travel to Quebec, Prince Edward Island, The Northwest Territories and Alberta before leaving for the US on the 8th July.

When this Royal tour was first agreed last year, Prince William was not married and since the Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011 much has changed. The main change of course is the raised level of international interest in the Royal couple. To put it into perspective, when The Queen visited Canada in the Summer of 2010 there were just 20 international journalists accredited to cover the tour. More than 1,300 journalists have been accredited to cover this Royal tour of Canada by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 

More to follow once the Royal couple have arrived in Canada. 

The Royal Wedding Charity Gift Fund Raises over £1m

Great news, it was announced yesterday that the Royal Wedding charity gift fund set up by Prince William and Kate raised £1,058,367 to be divided amongst the 26 charities personally chosen by the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Prior to the Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011 the couple had requested that where people wished to send them gifts that they donate to the charity fund instead. The fund is managed by the Foundation of Prince William and Harry.

Prince William and Kate's Tour of Canada

As previously announced The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate will be going on their first official tour Canada together from 30th June to 8th July 2011. It will also be their first official trip abroad since the Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011.

Although the full itinerary won't be announced until the start of the tour an outline schedule has been confirmed outlining where the Royal couple will visit in Canada. The basic schedule is as follows:

• 30th June to 2nd July 2011 - The National Capital Region which includes Ottawa, Ontario, Gatineau and Quebec
• 2nd July 2011 - Montreal, Quebec
• 3rd July 2011 - Quebec City, Quebec
• 3rd July to 4th July 2011 - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
• 4th July 2011 - Summerside, Prince Edward Island
• 4th July to 6th July 2011 - Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
• 6th July to 8th July 2011 - Calgary, Alberta

This will be the third time William has been to Canada and the first time that Kate has been. From the 8th July to 10th July 2011 William and Kate will then visit California in the USA.

Prince William and Kate return to the UK from their honeymoon in the Seychelles

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have now returned to UK from their honeymoon in the Seychelles according a spokesperson for St James' Palace. Apparently Prince William and Kate thoroughly enjoyed their 10 days together and were very grateful for the assistance they received from the Seychelles Government.

The relative peace and tranquillity that the Royal Couple enjoyed in the Seychelles must have seemed quite surreal in comparison to the scale of the Royal Wedding and the attention they received from the world.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will go on a Royal Tour of Canada at the beginning of July and will also visit California in the USA for a couple of days as well. Until then no doubt Prince William and Kate will want to get back relative normality in Anglesey where Prince William works as an RAF search and rescue pilot.  

Princess Beatrice Royal Wedding hat is auctioned on eBay

Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew the Duke of York, has put the infamous hat she wore to the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton for sale on eBay.

The hat which was designed by Philip Treacy caused a stir on the day of the Royal Wedding with very mixed views and opinions on it. 

Some thought it was ridiculous, many just thought it was too flamboyant, others liked it, some even thought it was part of a plot by Sarah Ferguson to take the limelight away from the Royal Wedding couple William and Kate. A little far-fetched perhaps...

Regardless, some good has come out of it all as the proceeds from the eBay auction will all go in aid of UNICEF and Children In Crisis.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge finally go on their Honeymoon

Prince William and Kate finally left yesterday (Monday 9th May 2011) for their belated Royal Wedding Honeymoon together. William and Kate duped the media again and managed to escape in complete secrecy in order that they might enjoy some sun, sea and sand time together in private. 

The Royal Honeymoon destination officially still remains a secret but it is rumoured that the Royal Couple have hired a private island to themselves in the Seychelles as oppose to a Caribbean island as had been previously suggested.

For William and Kate looking out over their secluded private island will be a stark contrast to what they will have seen looking out from the balcony at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day.  

72 Million live streams of The Royal Wedding on YouTube

The figures are in for how many people around the world watched The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on YouTube. There were 72 million live streams and 101 million total stream views for the day, including re-broadcasts and that's just the The Royal Channel on YouTube .

During the 10 seconds around the balcony kiss, The Royal Channel on YouTube experienced an additional 100,000 requests.

Live streams were highest in the UK and the US, but looks like love was in the air across the channel as well. The top 5 countries viewing the live event online were:

1. United Kingdom
2. United States
3. Italy
4. Germany
5. France

Buy Official Royal Wedding Programme Online Now

Great news for all those of you that wanted to buy a hard copy of the Official Royal Wedding Programme.

If you weren't able to make it to Central London for the Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011 then you wouldn't have been able to purchase a copy of the wedding programme until now that is.

A limited number of Official Royal Wedding Programmes for the Marriage of H.R.H Prince William of Wales with Miss Catherine (Kate) Middleton, are now available for sale online.

The Programme is 28 pages long and includes a message from the couple, an illustrated map and timetable of the day, the Order of Service, details of the Carriage Procession, information on Westminster Abbey and the Coats of Arms, and a newly released image of the couple taken by Mario Testino. All profits from the sale of the Official Programme will go to the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.


Purchase your copy now

How many people watched the Royal Wedding online?

The Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton on Friday 29th April 2011 broke all previous online streaming records boasting the largest ever live online audience. However the exact figure is yet to be confirmed.

The Royal Wedding broke the previous online live streaming record of approximately 70 million which was set during the inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday 20th Janaury 2009. 

Google had predicted that approximately 400 million people would be watching via the official Royal Wedding You Tube channel. The exact figure has yet to be confirmed.

The high volumes of traffic caused the BBC and Yahoo to struggle with the online streaming performance.

We will update you with the exact figures as we get them.

Royal honeymoon postponed because of Osama Bin Laden's death?

Was the postponement of William and Kate's honeymoon as a direct result of Osama Bin Laden being killed or just a coincidence?

It was officially announced by the palace on Saturday 30th April that William and Kate's Royal Wedding honeymoon was to be postponed until a later date and that William would be returning to work at his RAF Search and Rescue base in Anglesey on Tuesday this week.

The decision was announced just 30 minutes after the couple had been flown out of Buckingham Palace by helicopter. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent the night in Windsor Castle. There was no official reason given by the palace for the change in plans.

It was announced on Sunday 1st of May by Barack Obama, the President of the United States that Osama Bin Laden had been killed in a raid by US forces after they had gained intelligence that located him in a fortified compound in Pakistan.

The President gave the order to proceed with the raid on Friday 29th April, the day of the Royal Wedding and it is highly likely that David Cameron and the British Government were informed of the situation in advance and that they in turn then advised the Duke and Duchess to postpone their honeymoon plans.

Watch The Royal Wedding kiss shared between William and Kate at Buckingham Palace

If you missed it the first time round or you just want to see it again then you can watch the Royal Wedding kiss shared by Prince William and Kate Middleton below. The Royal Wedding kiss took place on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they are now officially known sneaked in a second kiss during the fly-over whist most people were looking up at the sky. 

What happened next after the Royal Wedding?

Perhaps one of the most memorable moments, other than of course the two kisses on the balcony of Buckingham palace, was watching Prince William driving Kate Middleton from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House in a classic Aston Martin convertible.

The short drive took place yesterday after the afternoon wedding reception for 650 guests at Buckingham Palace with balloons tied to the back and 'JU5T WED' written on the rear number plate, the car drew cheers and laughter from the thousands of well-wishers at the palace gates.

The couple later returned to Buckingham Palace for the evening celebration which was smaller with some 300 guests, mainly consisting of family and friends.

Kate Middleton, now the The Duchess of Cambridge had changed out of her wedding dress into a white evening dress by the same designer, Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. 

It is at this evening celebration that Prince Harry gave his Best Man speech and the guests celebrated into the early hours of this morning. Kate is reported to have said "I am glad the weather held off. We had a great day."

Around one million people lined the streets in Central London to celebrate the Royal Wedding and some five hundred thousand people were around The Mall to see the couple come out onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Police have thanked the British public for helping to make the Royal Wedding security operation "an amazing success". There were only 55 people arrested. The alleged offences included breach of the peace, drunk and disorderly, handling stolen goods and possession of an offensive weapon.

The security operation cost an estimated £20m under the threat from terrorists, stalkers and anarchists and thankfully the day was a success without any major incidents.

The photo on the right is part of new collection of photos released today by Clarence House and the photos were taken yesterday at Buckingham Palace.

The Newlyweds William and Kate spent the night at Buckingham palace and they left by helicopter this morning after taking a stroll around the Grounds bound for their honeymoon. The destination of the Royal Couple's honeymoon remained a secret.

The honeymoon will be for a traditional two week period and Prince William has a fortnight's leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue pilot in Anglesey. The pair are hoping for complete privacy after the public glare of their wedding. There is varying speculation that the couple may have gone to Scotland, the Caribbean, Jordon or Kenya.

We're sure everyone will wish them a very happy time together and respect their wishes for privacy over the next couple of weeks.

Royal Wedding 2011

Pippa Middleton and The Royal Wedding

A star is born, but let's pray Kate's little sister is not the new Princess Margaret.

Kate Middleton may have won the nation's hearts on Friday, but as the day's celebrations drew to a close it was clear that her little sister, Pippa, had captured the eyes.

Arriving back at The Goring Hotel close to 3am in a slinky, long emerald gown, with diamanté embellishment, she retained the poise and serene sparkle that had bewitched onlookers all day.

From the moment Pippa arrived at Westminster Abbey, clad in an audaciously simple cowl-necked ivory sheath that skimmed like a glove over her slender yet shapely figure, the nation swooned; you could almost hear the collective male gasp every time she bent to straighten Kate's dress.

By the time Friday's royal wedding service was halfway through, Pippa's crepe-covered derrière was "trending" wildly on social media site Twitter, and by the day's end there were three separate Facebook pages dedicated to praise of her posterior – with the "Pippa Middleton *** Appreciation Society" leading the panting field. Many other admirers, however, had eyes only for the tantalising glimpses of cleavage afforded by her dress's teasing neckline.  

The Royal Wedding Reception at Buckingham Palace

The Queen is giving a lunchtime Reception at Buckingham Palace for around 650 guests drawn from the Wedding Service congregation, representing the Couple’s official and private lives.

Guests will be served Pol Roger NV Brut Réserve Champagne with a selection of other soft and alcoholic drinks.

There are up to 900 individually iced flowers and leaves of 17 different varieties decorated on the cake. A garland design around the middle of the cake matches the architectural garlands decorated around the top of the Picture Gallery in Buckingham Palace, the room in which the cake will be displayed. The chocolate biscuit cake was created by Mcvitie’s Cake Company using a Royal Family recipe at the special request of Prince William.

During the course of the Reception, Governors-General and Prime Ministers of Realm Countries will be presented to The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and the Bridal Couple.  The Reception will include the cutting of the wedding cake and some speeches.

Guests at the reception will be entertained by Claire Jones, the official Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales.

The wedding cake and a chocolate biscuit cake will also be served at the Reception. The wedding cake, designed by Fiona Cairns, is made from 17 individual fruit cakes (12 of which form the base) and has eight tiers. The cake has been decorated with cream and white icing using the Joseph Lambeth technique. 

Kate Middleton and Prince William are officially husband and wife

It's official, the bells of Westminster Abbey are ringing loud as Prince William and Kate Middleton are now married and a Royal Couple. The couple have signed the Register in the shrine of Edward the Confessor, stealing a well deserved private moment for themselves.

And, Kate was seen asking Prince William in the Royal Carriage if he was happy, to which he acknowledged that he was. You can see by the exchanges they give each other that they are deeply in love.

The ceremony was majestic, a modern day fairy tale and now the newlyweds are on their way to Buckingham Palace where everybody around the world is anticipating the long awaited kiss on the balcony. 

Prince William now becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge and Kate Middleton becomes Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.

The new coat of arms for The Royal Couple will be an amalgamation of both of their current Coats of Arms below.

Prince William                     Kate Middleton

No prenuptial for William and Kate

Prince William's whispered words to Catherine Middleton at the altar in Westminster Abbey, "you are beautiful", are not his only romantic gesture. The Duke of Cambridge, as he now is, refused to sign a prenuptial agreement with his fiancée.

"William was advised that some sort of legal agreement might be a good idea," said one of his friends.

"But he loves Kate and trusts her implicitly, and was adamant that no agreement was necessary."

When Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, a guest at the royal wedding, married her former fitness instructor, Daniel Westling, last year, agreements were drawn up to define how the wealth would be divided should they separate.

Lawyers acting for the princess ensured that all property, inheritance and gifts belonging to the royal household remained in her name alone.

After Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton was announced last November, Patrick Jephson, a former private secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales, urged the couple to sign a prenuptial agreement, saying it was important to be practical and ensure that every future eventuality was considered. 

The legacy of Diana, the people's Princess

I watched the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton with tears of happiness for them, and for their very evident love for each other, but also tears of regret that Diana was not there to bear witness to this love. 

William powerfully reminded us of his mother’s eternal presence by giving Catherine his mother’s sapphire engagement ring.

It was also lovely that Carole Middleton wore a Catherine Walker dress: Catherine, my neighbour in Sussex, who died last year, was Diana’s favourite designer, and is much missed by all her friends, as well as the world of fashion.

However, for me the most moving moment was seeing Prince William and Prince Harry leaving Clarence House together to go to Westminster Abbey. Their role as Princes means that, in a certain way, they belong to the nation, yet they are also Diana’s gift to us. How very, very proud she would have been of them, of their achievements and their obviously unbreakable bond with each other.

Diana fought hard to give her sons as normal a life as it was possible for them to have within the constraints of their position. She did not want either of them to feel as trapped as she did, and particularly wanted William to be strong enough to bear the burden of kingship. She expected him to be in touch with his future subjects, to understand the day-to-day realities of their lives, and to be in a position truly to understand those realities, rather than merely to observe them from afar.

It is something that she often talked about with me, and she made it her business to steer them along a common path of empathy with the most vulnerable and troubled in society. Her own painful feelings of inadequacy gave her an intuitive understanding of others’ plight.

Google Royal Wedding Doodle

Google is marking the Royal Wedding today with a special Google Doodle for big day. 

However the Royal Wedding Google Doodle seems to be localised to just Google in the UK. It certainly isn't on the Google search engine worldwide (which you wouldn't expect it to be) but it doesn't even appear to be visible on Google search engines in Commonwealth countries like Australia and Canada. 

Is Google worried about rocking the boat with the republicans on it?