The Future of British Monarchy | William & Kate: One Year On | Absolute History

the newlywed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began a lifetime of foreign tours with a visit to Canada on behalf of Queen and country their happiness shunts through all the ceremonies and Catherine known to the world as Kate received a rapturous welcome in one golden year they've succeeded in making the Royals relevant once more in this program we look at their first magical year of marriage and how they've adapted to their private life and public duties we reveal how Kate's prepared for nearly a decade for her role as the princess national ambassador and style icon responding to an international crisis and committing to charity work the couple have brought a fresh meaning to the monarchy as Britain's heir in line and his future Queens celebrate their first wedding anniversary we look back at the year that made them the most famous couple in the world Canada summer 2011 there was little sign of Republican feeling when thousands turned out to welcome the royal guests of honor just two months after their spectacular wedding the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were on their first official foreign tour it was a charm offensive to one of the most important parts of the Commonwealth the final stop was Calgary home of Canada's Cowboys William and Kate had come to launch the annual Wild West rodeo the Calgary Stampede the nine-day visit of the prince and his new wife had surpassed all expectations amusing events like this disguised the serious intention of the tour this young attractive couple with their unstuff II and friendly approach had come to preserve Canada's link with the monarchy [Music] it was Kate's first big test as a member of the royal family representing the Queen abroad she and William worked as a team it wasn't just Catherine that created that reception it was both of them what was so lovely and I think probably of great relief to Prince William and certainly to his courtiers was that the attention to them was to both of them it wasn't all about Kate of course there was a curiosity as he would expect we just had the royal wedding there was such heightened interest in our new Duchess of Cambridge that the future Queen of England of course you would expect that but the Canadians were just as happy to see Prince William I mean they absolutely adored him and what they did was they worked as a package I think in those events leading up to Ottawa the engagements that Kate and William took on as a couple they very much learned how to do the royal walkabout so you'll notice that when they arrive at something they'll split and one will take one bank of people and the other will take the other but there is equal adoration and praise and affection for both of them it was not a case of Charles and Diana where everyone just wanted to see Diana and only people wanted to see Kate they wanted to see both of them as a package on July the 1st Canada Day Kate wore the national colours of red and white half a million lined the streets of Ottawa to see the Royal superstars in their first carriage ride since their wedding and the crowds still grew to welcome William and Kate the temperature reached a sweltering and 90 degrees and everyone was feeling the effect no one quite knew how they were going to be received and when they first landed in Ottawa I mean the cheers and the roar of applause was just so huge I mean it was just absolute adoration in french-speaking Quebec William pleased everyone by making his first public speech in French thanking them for their warm reception kate was relieved that williams speech had been faultless but he joked about his accents [Applause] the couple moved on to Prince Edward Island in a cooler and damper climate William learned a new skill at the search-and-rescue helicopter pilots in a cking helicopter he practiced water bird landings a technique used by the Canadians but not by the British Royal Air Force Kate watched anxiously from the shore as William easily mastered the tricky maneuver sharing a high level of piloting skills [Music] then it was time for a dragon boat race Kate had once trained with an all-female crew now she was out to prove her skills against Williams all-male team the two teams rode furiously across the 200 feet course with Williams team crossing the line marginally ahead afterwards a loving cuddle delighted onlookers this is one royal marriage that will surely withstand temptations William is very affable and easygoing and I feel that if William if misbehaved which is possible because there's Windsor men are not renowned for their fidelity I think that Kate would turn a blind eye she wanted this marriage more than anything and I think she loves William very deeply and she will make a very happy life for him and there will be no reason for it not to work from Canada to California and a dazzling charity dinner with old friends like David Beckham Kate and William met Hollywood's most glamorous celebrities like Diana's old friend Tom Hanks and some well-known faces Americans this man I saw Nicole Kidman literally just stirred just go to jelly as she met both of them and everyone wanted a little piece of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Tom Hanks was someone he had a real rapport and connection with they've actually met before but I mean William was was in his element talking films with the stars of the movies they had a quality about them that none of the Hollywood stars possessed and I guess that quality is being royal star I just like to thank Colin Firth for my perfect opening line I have a voice for their first public event as a married couple the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were guests of honor at a gala dinner for the children's charity arc in a shimmering pink dress by designer Jenny Packham Kate was the main attraction amid the wealthy and famous the event raised over 17 million pounds for disadvantaged children kate knew that all eyes were on her and that the media would analyze her appearance accompanied by his stunning wife william had grown in self-confidence he spoke with candor and honesty I know that I'm very fortunate I've had a good education a secure home and a loving and supportive family so many young people however do not have these advantages and as a result can lack the confidence and knowledge to realize their full potential charity is very important both to William and Kate obviously William strongly resembles his mother and would want his wife to be a humanitarian too the first affair of State attended by Kate after her wedding was the annual trooping of the color ceremony William took part wearing full military dress Kate proudly watched her husband riding in the parade this is her new environment surrounded by members of the royal family all celebrating the Queen's official birthday in tune it was the Queen's big day but inevitably attention was on the newly weds William wearing his ceremonial bearskin and guards form and crowds crammed into the mouth to see Kate standing on the palace balcony for the first time since that wedding she was doing royal family for events like this for the rest of her life inevitably Kate will be compared with William's mother Princess Diana the last big royal stone I don't think Kate has got that dazzle factor of Diana because Diana was a tragedy you know Donna walks along the route of people waiting to see her and she told them little things about her life and we knew so much about Diana we're never going to know that much about Kate I mean Kate's been around now from nine years we know nothing about her nothing really about her maybe there's nothing to know but with Diana nine years in we knew everything about I mean I remember Diana's saying to me you even know how many fillings I got my teeth but we don't know anything about Kate on the last public engagement before their wedding William and Kate visited Blackburn in Lancashire one of the poorer parts of the country guided by William Kate was learning the world way fast ready to take on the life ahead of her the couple opens a new state school and were clearly at ease with the pupils and their own happiness evidence tool a newspaper front page summed up Kate's joy and hopes for the future two months before their wedding william and kate's first public engagement together was in Anglesey the Welsh Islands where they've made a home the Royal National Lifeboat institution asked them to launch a new lifeboat Kate performed the launch without a hitch after the launch Kate joined in the singing in both Welsh and English the couple made a sentimental journey back to some Andrews University where their romance began this is a very special moment for Catherine and me it feels like coming home despite being one of Europe's leading research institutions the third oldest university in the english-speaking world when William began San Andres University at 19 he was one of the world's most eligible bachelors his choice of bride became a source of media speculation Kate was just one of a number of girls linked with William before her the student Prince had an adoring circle of rich and well-connected admirers with which one of this bevy of beauties would become his princess the newspapers guessing game continued for years [Music] Kate's main rival was Williams childhood friend jacker Craig the palace even denied reports of a romance and before he started dating Kate he had a six-week fling with fellow student Carly Massey Burch Katherine would have seen him with all these very pretty girls you know Carly Matthew Bert she was still a friend Olivia hands other other girls they're all you know fabulous looking socialites and so on but she has triumphed over all of them so she will be able to take a degree of comfort from that and quite frankly you know she's a very good-looking girl so in 2007 William and Kate temporarily separated the split was blamed on his military life after university they found it hard to keep their own months on track William wasn't ready to make Kate his bride when he had years of military training ahead William was very hard at work with his military commitments and it became increasingly difficult for the couple to spend time together he spent weekdays in the barracks and then enjoyed time off with his fellow servicemen he had to do well in all aspects of military service like his grandmother the Queen one day he would be head of all the Armed Forces but his career opened up new experiences away from Kate Prince William's Alfre a male red-blooded so I could do better thought the grass was greener on the other side I mean and as a prince you walk into a room and you get used to the fact that every single woman in the room is looking at you and thinking I fancy my chances there and Catherine she wanted more commitment from him he wouldn't give it they split up she did what girls have been jilted for centuries have done she put on a brave face went out and had fun and seemed like she's never care in the world she put on something that was short high and tight look great and he was there watching the newspapers than thinking hmm I don't want something having a roll in the hay with my girl I better get back with her after a brief spell apart Williams soon realized what he had lost and that he might never find anyone as good as Kate he was soon on his motorbike romancing Kate again at her home in the village of buck LaBrie it wasn't only Kate he missed it was also her happy comfortable home life with her parents sister and brother this became his idea and the Middletons became the role models for his future with Kate the whole family had joined Kate women finished his army training at Santos with the traditional passing out ceremony in the presence of the Queen [Music] at such a high-profile event their presence was taken as a sign that Kate had become the official girlfriend of the prince and her family were important to him Kate's mother was an air hostess and her father a flight dispatcher before they started apart a Goods business that made them the millionaire's Williams snootier friends poked fun at Kate's mother because of her working-class roots however the Middletons will help with the upbringing of the next royal generation I I think William is incredibly close to Kate's family he spends a lot of time with them and he's very fond of them he is attracted to the stable upbringing and background she's had and I'm sure that he and Kate will want to replicate her childhood for their own children Kate enjoyed normal childhood activities like joining the brownies for the little girl who became a princess her family's discretion was absolute today they remain her closest confidants one of the things which attracted him to Catherine had also to the Middleton family is the fact that there are safe steady stable family and he's much of their courtship was spent a bottle break the family home having a quiet pint in the local pub away from prying eyes away from long lenses but just enjoying casual normal life with the Middleton family the truth is that she's had to edit her friends and that's the reality I suppose when you date a future king that's that's going to be part of it she had a big circle of friends and Andrews University I would be surprised if she's still friends with perhaps half of those but if you ask me who her best friends were I'd actually tell you her mother and her sister because they really are the ones with whom Kate can entirely confide they know her inside out and better than anyone else and I and I suspect that with her future royal role which is so all-encompassing she will need that support networking and where she always goes is back to her sister and back to her mother as William's girlfriend Kate became public property every aspect of her childhood who was scrutinized there were stories about her being bullied at one of her schools [Music] her uncle Gary was caught out in scandalous newspaper sting her brother James then a student was pictured wearing fancy dress a most damaging criticism was about Kate's lack of proper career a graduate in art history she worked part-time for her parents business but had plenty of leisure hours while william was away I think Kate's in an invidious position she has been with William for a long time eight years and to have to go into work every morning and not be able to talk about what you did the night before it is very difficult she's had to trust people and she's worked with her family saying that many people in this country work for the family business it's not that unusual of all all backgrounds and she's been working quietly behind the scenes and helping them earn a living after leaving University William undertook a specially tailored training scheme in each of the three armed forces as king he will be commander in chief of all branches of the British military after long stints away in the army he spent a short period with the Royal Navy however it was his Royal Air Force training that he liked best that determined his choice of career as a search and rescue pilot flying fixed-wing aircraft and later on helicopters became his passion he described flying solo as an amazing feeling William and Kate had been together for eight years when they announced their engagements they were both 28 years old his parents hardly knew each other when they became engaged in 1981 diana was 19 Charles 31 I'm amazed that she's being brave enough to take me on there were no hesitations with William and Kate on the day of their engagement they were at ease and happy with each other you look back to the photographs of Charles and Diana and and that dreadful comment he made which when he was nervous about whatever love means I mean you can imagine if William had said that to Kate she did them give him a Smart tap on the shoulder it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other but we did become you know very close friends from from quite early on William had lovingly kept Diana's engagement ring after her death and he gave it to Kate when he proposed to her it's my mother's engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because I'm obviously she's knocked me around to sharing near the the fun excitements with all this this is my way of keeping sort of close to at all I guess we'd better we better have a look at it what what kind of ring is it are you an expert on words I'm not an experiment well that's all I've been reliably informed it's the sapphires and diamonds but I'm sure everyone recognizes it from from previous time say it was a poignant reference to his parents a broken marriage everything about we and you can trace back to what happened to his parents he lived through the bitter breakup of their marriage he knows how much what happened to them destroyed their marriage he's very concerned not to make the same mistake I suspect there are all sorts of things running through his mind about all this what happened to his parents particularly what happened to his father who clearly made a terrible choice when he was a young man and he doesn't want to do that in 2007 singer Joss Stone helped William and Harry organize a concert in Diana's memory amid the big names from the entertainment world William still had the star quality that has impressed so many people I remember seeing him at st. Mary's Hospital he returned to the birthing unit where he was born and nurses were literally swooning in the corridors because he was around he has thought that X Factor but whether he's comfortable with that is another matter and I don't think we'll see him doing the kind of performing perhaps we also know about Prince William is Wally is very much his own man and certainly won't be told what to do he likes to decide it for himself he's also been very clever in surrounding himself by an extremely tight knit group of friends the so called circle of trust who friends from Eton for instance who really he now trust implicitly among this gilded circle are the van cuts and brothers William was an usher at the wedding was old pal Edward phone cuts him and the Duke of Westminster's daughter when Catherine met William she was really punching above her social weight she was after all a girl from a middle-class home dealing with the upper classes where everybody who came for dinner was law or made to this divine constant family for example great friends of the walls especially Prince Charles you know mixing in those kinds of circles she would have felt in early on quite intimidated about it and I remember some friends telling me that the Catherine didn't like the fact that you know she'd be cooking in the kitchen and being treated a bit like a skivvy and William would be chatting away to some you know lady who was a student at the College like his father before him William loves polo a game for rich players that attracts the higher echelon of society kate has learned to mix with the Polo playing click thought of Williams in a circle this has not always been easy the social divide did create tensions early on in the relationship now Catherine's friendly with most of William's friends in 2008 William and his fellow Royal Air Force cadets were presented with their wings by Prince Charles ceremony at RAF Cranwell Kate was waiting inside seated with Diana's sister Lady Sarah mccorkadale they all watched as William stepped up to receive his insignia from his proud father note how William turn to see Kate's reaction before leaving the platform and how Kate noticed his attention [Music] flying officer William whales are starting out in the branch of the military with his colleagues [Music] he took part in a photo shoot with Charles and his stepmother Camilla William has long accepted Charles his second marriage and welcomes Camilla as a companion for his father she will prove a good advisor for Kate in choosing a career in the RAF William was departing from the tradition of royal service in the Army or Navy Kate had to wait for William until the time was right for marriage so behind the scenes she prepared for her future role I I think Kate has taken on the role and knows what is expected of her Ferrer benefits and there are downfalls to to any job and she has signed up for it and is welcoming it with open arms Flight Lieutenant William Wales as he is now known in the RAF pilots seeking helicopters sometimes flying over the mountains of Snowdonia in treacherous weather after a long day or night with his colleagues he goes back home to Kate at their rented cottage near his base at RAF Valley in Anglesey in spring 2012 he spent six weeks on duty in the Falkland Islands it's a life he seems to prefer to his world duties [Music] he's only done a handful of fraud engagements he's done a couple of short royal tours on his own he's not he's not really being a fully fledged member of the war family firm so in a way he's learning the ropes just as she is and he's not used to being the star of the show he's left that to his dad for a boy who likes to be out of the limelight you know likes to be watching soccer on TV watching a movie he'll that'll be thrilled if the burden of taking on public juices is left to Kathryn and their Welsh home Kate is a real housewife of Anglesey shopping and cooking for her husband and running their cottage without full-time staff she's an organized girl she's she's always being that way she's the kind of girl who enjoys things like sewing and knitting and she was taught to do that by a grandmother and I always find interesting that the sewing was so beautiful on the wedding dress again that's the influence of Katherine so she's a girl who's organized in a very feminine way after a 1 million pound renovation the couple will move into Princess Margaret's old apartments at Kensington Palace this is very near Diana's former home where William and Harry grew up while the apartments are being refurbished the couple live in nottingham cottage in kensington palace grounds when they move out Harry will move in William has left the apartments decoration and design details to his wife Kate's very much at the helm of the refurbishments she has a keen eye for all things interior of course her passion is art and she's going to be very hands-on with this project so while she's based in London at Kensington Palace she's made visits to the apartment she has some ideas of what she wants to do for the refurbishment but they weren't actually be moving in until 2013 they will have more rooms probably than they know what to do with there are four floors of these apartments and they are they are largely viewed as the most luxurious and best position and apartments they have their own courtyard and garden it's going to be the perfect base for them and of course the perfect family home kate has married into one of Britain's or wealthiest families and his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969 Charles inherited the huge Duchy of Cornwall when he has seats to the throne William becomes the next Duke benefiting from the Duchess Richard states and revenues which produce an income of over 17 million pounds a year the royal family has palatial homes like Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands and Sandringham in Norfolk where they spend Christmas Charles's Country Estate in Gloucestershire is Highgrove set in 900 acres of farmland and gardens William is a countryman at heart like the rest of the royal family he enjoys country pursuits such as hunting while Kate was not brought up in these traditions she's having to adapt to means way of life both in public and private when their parents Tiggy leg back and through a family of landowners and courtiers who understood royal customs hairy flourished under tikkis guidance and her kindness helped him to deal with the loss of his mother when he was only 12 [Music] Harry still has this daredevil quality quite different from his more serious older brother who has the duty and burden of kingship ahead a year after Diana's death William and Harry made a brief visit to Canada with their father tonight girls treated that boys like rock stars [Applause] William was overwhelmed by it unlike Kari who lapped up all the attention Perry became a career soldier serving on the frontline in Afghanistan as a forward air controller with his regiment the Blues and Royals even in warfare Harry found adventure with the discarded motorbike and revved it up for the camera carries on off girl phone Chelsea Devi was invited to the aristocratic wedding of the Duke of Northumberland's daughter Lady Katy Percy there is still a hope that Harry and Chelsey could marry one day it's great passion between the two of them when they're together that the tension is visible as electricity that sparks flying everywhere you can tell they have a very volatile relationship tremendous shouting matches screaming rouse but then they get back together again I would say that of all the the royal romance is currently going on theirs was the real true thing it's a real deal Harry has found a new friend in Kate he's like a sister to him he spoke in advance about William's wedding really close friends but you know we all are real and the position comes with it and it all comes with it so and yeah he's gonna say when Kate married William and became Duchess of Cambridge it was Pippa the maid of honor at her sister's wedding who also grabbed the media's attention people were fascinated by Kate's sister so much so that there's even a Facebook page dedicated to people's per bottle regarded as the perfect shape on the palace balcony after the wedding the obvious rapport between Harry and Pippa caused speculation of another possible world romance Press seen heard wind of Harry's secret meetings with attractive Pippa who's two years younger than the Duchess of Cambridge the sisters are hugely competitive with sibling rivalry over fashion and fitness but Pippa is Kate's closest ally and never lets her down kipper enjoys the benefits of royal connections the attention the designer clothes and the best weddings Pippa Middleton was a guest at the wedding of Katie Percy daughter of the wealthy Duke of Northumberland PIPA is an old friend of Katie's brother heir to the title and the family's hugest ace some predict that Pippa will marry him and become a duchess to her last boyfriend was Alex Loudon a rich young stockbroker handsome unsuitable but he didn't like the endless publicity around Pippa who is now Britain's most eligible girl I feel quite sorry for Pippa because everyone thinks Pippa loves all this attention she's getting but she doesn't she hates it and it really stops her from leading a normal life she can't go outside she can't go in out to the trash she can't do anything without being photographed because the appetite for Pippa photographs it's enormous it's like if we can't have Kate let's have pepper and poor girl is pursued relentlessly and I think it's very difficult for her to get on with her life and therefore very difficult for her to find a decent boyfriend her first relationship broke up because there was just so much attention focused on her that he couldn't deal with it Kate's brother James quit University to start a cake making business linked to his parents company he has also been the subject of media attention James Middleton is is very interesting because you might recall before the Royal Wedding James was really making headlines for all the wrong reasons there were pictures that were leaked on Facebook of him dressing up in his sister's clothes drinking misbehaving Edinburgh University all the sorts of things that students get up to but unfortunately for James found their way on the net there were even rumours about his sexuality so James was very much the the focus of the paparazzi he was billed as the the second black sheep of the family after Kate's uncle Gary Goldsmith and I think people were watching actually for James to trip up but what happened on the day of the Royal Wedding was that James presented a completely different public image he delivered the most faultless reading at Westminster Abbey not only is he dyslexic he memorized that reading James has deliberately kept below the radar since the wedding I think he's desperate not to be seen to be cashing in on his sister's rural connections and Kate's mother Carol also has to be careful about publicity she knows she must avoid talking about Kate's position and private life Carol Middleton is an intelligent woman and she knows that if she starts discussing her daughter's life she's gonna make her daughter's life very difficult and she's the one that wanted our daughter there she's worked very hard to get her there why go and spoil it I remember being told that the first time kate at william home to the buckle berry home she instructed her parents and her family that william was to be made to feel at home that they weren't to discuss him coming over to the house with their friends or extended family there was a vow of silence and I think a trust a bond of trust right from the start of that relationship and Carol and Michael grew to love William I guess you know as one of their own they've they've really welcomed him into the family fold so I don't think we should be surprised that there is this vow of silence on William and Kate's wedding day television cameras recorded the Royal guests arriving at Westminster Abbey the great and the good the famous and the unknown politicians and potentates friends and relatives all assembled for the wedding of the century the cameras captured some very well-known faces [Music] then came Terra Parma Tomkinson a reformed drug addict and friend of the Royals in an eye-catching hat and dress Pippa arrived at Westminster Abbey confidently in charge of the young bridesmaids and pageboys London crowds cheered and millions watched on their televisions as the bride whose family tree includes coal miners came to marry her prince [Music] you this was a real-life fairy tale come true for the whole Middleton family who all helped to make it a perfect day already played a great role by producing the girl as delightful as Catherine who will help William lead the monarchy through into well into the 21st century but they've also shown their metal during the Royal Wedding I mean you know pimple the fabulous James read very well Michael and Carol really you know the dosing loving parents and they added to the spectacle others in the sense of the family so you know if the royal wedding was the renewal of vows between the monarchy and the nation the Middletons played a very significant part in that kate has now become the world's number one trendsetter everything she wears sells out instantly on her engagement day she wore a blue silk dress by Daniella Jaleo whose ISA label kate has made popular the one designer that Kate's really put on the map is Daniella hello ISA a very charming Brazilian talented dress designer Kate's been wearing her creations for years and I don't think it was any accident that Kate chose to step out in a nice again for her engagement day it was the traditional crossover jersey dress in this beautiful deep blue that totally set off herself our engagement ring the staple design of Issa is a crossover jersey dress often in a bright print beautiful colors perfect for the cameras in fact she wore a beautiful powerful evening gown in Canada for an evening event it was a pop concert and Kate turned up and this is what I love about her style she might have felt the pressure to be a little bit trendy but actually what she went was for something sophisticated elegant and in the most royal hue you could possibly choose and she worked her I mean she looked great back in London Kate's natural habitat for clothes is Chelsea despite its reputation for designer clothes there are many off the peg shops such as Hobbes Oasis Zara Reece and all Akili on the kingsroad one of Kate's first public engagements was a visit to Rose Hill Primary School and their Oxford she wore an off the peg all Akili coat Kate's mother sometimes acts as her personal shopper finding the right outfit for the occasion and what Kate's doing is not just getting people into the high street over here in Britain she's putting those names on the map internationally and I know from having interviewed the chairman the chief executive of Rhys that people in America cannot now get enough of Rhys and that is down to the Duchess of Cambridge Kate's wedding gown was a triumph for designer Sarah Burton creative director of the late Alexander McQueen's fashion house but Kate has spread wide her patronage of designers and shops she's affiliated herself with British fashion designers right from the haute couture end Alexander McQueen Jenny Packham Amanda Wakeley big British designers and then she goes right to the other end of the spectrum Topshop well that's just fantastic because I think anyone that walks into Topshop and can buy the blazer the blouse the dress that the Duchess has stepped out in feels that they've been able to achieve a little bit of royalty at all de hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool Kate wore a high street coat from Hobbes over a plain black Oasis dress with her trademark tumbling hair and ready smile Kate's looks wonderful in any colour like Diana before her she has an easy affinity with children she is also tactile and connects quickly with everyone but William's wife and his mother were very different women I think Kate and Dinah much as we love to compare them are very very very different characters and I think also Kate is so much old diana was 19 and Kate was 29 it's very very different and I think that Kate has also had William at her side for so many years you know telling her all about his world and his life and I think she knows a lot more what to expect Kate and William opened a new 18 million pound children's cancer unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital setting of Diana's first solo engagement in 1982 she wore a simple but shapely figure hugging dress by Amanda Wakeley kate has said that diana was an inspirational woman to look up to now she has started taking on some of Diana's charity interests in this she is encouraged and supported by William she's a bright girl and she can always look for a real true role to play like like Diana did it took Diana many many years to find that true role in late 2011 Kate and William made their first joint humanitarian mission to a UNICEF Depot in Copenhagen they were joined by Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark for once Kate's outfit a crimson coat was considered a fashion faux-pas kate drew attention for all the wrong reasons actually she was wearing a coat I believe it was okay Bennet it was a rather wonderful coat but it almost looked a size too big it had bundled up at the back where it was belted and of course everyone was quite convinced that the reason she chosen to wear such a big coat was because she was hiding a baby bump so we were all spotting or trying to spot the bump and of course when Kate refused to try this peanut paste during one of the the aid missions the rumor mill went into overdrive that she absolutely must be pregnant at the Depot Kate and William helped pack boxes of aid and medical supplies bound for East Africa they were responding to the UNICEF famine appeal alongside Frederick and Mary it's always in the background it's been going on for about Katherine staying at least 100 days now and it's not getting any better you know the rains have come now and as hopefully you've all heard from the UNICEF brief that that doesn't necessarily mean that things are gonna get better at all in fact disease becomes a huge issue and so it's very much a case of anyone who can do anything to help please do it's gotten are you hopeful that being here can make a difference well we really hope so to really put the spotlight back on on this table crisis and really to try and raise the awareness you know I I was taught by some of the statistics and I think other people would be if they've lost track of the story the two royal couple's listened intently to an experts briefing kate has a great deal in common with Australian born Princess Mary as far as Princess Mary of Denmark is concerned she she has a lot to offer to Kate they come from very similar backgrounds and she's an Australian she is a commoner to all intents and purposes who married into the royal family and has had to deal with that international spotlight being shined on her so if anyone's in a position to help Kate oh it's her the daughter of an English Earl with a stately home Diana married Charles 30 years before Kate married William had they met Diana and Kate might have had a strange relationship Katherine has already gotten a very finished fashion sense that she's very much in control very capable with a great eye for detail but Donna always wanted a daughter always wanted to mentor a daughter through the labyrinthine world of the royal family she'd have enjoyed teaching Katherine the ropes buzz could have been a twinge of jealousy that she was passing on the fashioned baton from one generation to the next William's commitment and love of Kate evokes the unconditional love that Diana gave William Kate where's Diana's ring she will live in her old palace and she will devote the rest of her life to her eldest son but could having a couple's so popular in line to the throne have consequences for Prince Charles [Applause] Prince Charles is the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history he's not going to give up his chance of ruling of being sovereign nor print Prince William wanting to he wants to remain in the background for as long as it can but sadly the opinion polls have been against Prince Charles for last 20 years for 20 years the British public have wanted william over charles to be king and if quite frankly if the House of Windsor was a popularity contest William would win it hands down Kate chose to make her first public speech at the treehouse Hospice in Ipswich where she is a patron she were a blue re stress that her mother had previously worn at Ascot [Applause] Kait read her speech very carefully and slowly understandably she sounded a little nervous first of all I'd like to say thank you thank you for not only accepting me as a patron thank you also from fighting here today William was away in the Falklands on a six-week tour of duty clearly missing her husband Kate spoke about how they worked together I am only sorry that William partly yesterday he would love it here a view of his did I share is that through teamwork so much can be achieved Kate is doing such a great job all of those years I suppose of being nicknamed way tkt by the British press we now really see what was happening the whole time Kate has been clearly groomed for this role for many years every time she steps out I think she proves herself to be the most formidable ambassador for this country along with her husband I think what's so special about these two is that they do work so well together as a team they clearly love each other there's a great bond between them and actually when you travel with them and you watch them carrying out these tours and these engagements it's absolutely clear to see that they really are meant to be together I feel enormously proud to be part of East Anglia's children's hospices and to see the wonderful life-changing work that you do thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Absolute History

Views: 113,811

Rating: 4.7980328 out of 5

Keywords: history documentaries, quirky history, world history, ridiculous history

Id: KmzU6qo0RAs

Length: 49min 2sec (2942 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 06 2020