Wills-Kate travel to Belfast, Ireland
Wills-Kate travel to Belfast, Ireland
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Prince William and fiancee Kate Middleton travelled to Belfast yesterday, delighting a surprised but enthusiastic crowd with their first official visit to Northern Ireland before their April 29 wedding.
Kate shows off her flipping skills
Police kept watch from the rooftops for a visit that brought the center of Belfast to a standstill.
Up to 100 people gathered in the bright sunshine near city hall to greet the couple, but the crowd swelled to several
hundred as nearby shoppers realised something special was happening.
"My little heart is beating 90 to the dozen after meeting Kate," said Gloria Lowry, from Carrickfergus. "She is absolutely beautiful and William so handsome. They make a perfect couple."
It was the couple's third public outing in recent weeks, completing a circuit that has taken them to all parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Last month, the couple travelled to Wales and
Scotland.
As they arrived at George Best City Airport, they were welcomed by Lord Mayor Pat Convery and Dame Mary Peters, gold medalist in the pentathlon in the 1972 Olympics and now Lord Lieutenant of Belfast.
Outside city hall, William and Middleton were cheered as they took turns flipping a pancake, the traditional treat eaten on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the Catholic season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.
Women from the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children provided the pancake and pan for a fundraiser without knowing they would be meeting royalty.
Middleton, smiling broadly as she greeted people hoping for a handshake, wore a double-breasted cream-coloured belted coat, black opaque tights and black high-heeled shoes. William wore a navy suit.
Some in the crowd had guessed that a royal visit might be in the works. Rebecca Fletcher (11) took the day off school, called "Katie!" and offered Britain's future queen a bouquet of daffodils, saying, "You're a very lucky lady. I'm so jealous!"
"I am lucky," Middleton replied. "He's a very nice man and I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him."
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