Tuesday, July 12, 2011

HOLLYWOOD NIGHT FOR THE ROYAL COUPLE

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have mingled with Hollywood stars at a dinner in Los Angeles as they continue their North American tour.

Famous names such as Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks and Barbra Streisand attended the Bafta showcase, held to promote up-and-coming British talent.

Staff in bowler hats and Union flag-inspired outfits gave the £15,000-a-table ($25,000) event a British feel.

Earlier, Prince William scored four goals at a charity polo match.

That performance also drew a celebrity crowd at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club for an event which raised millions of dollars for good causes for the club's centenary.

Guests paid anything from $400 (£250) to $4,000 for the privilege of watching the prince, who helped his side to victory wearing the number 4 jersey.

At Bafta's black-tie dinner that evening, the menu included bite-size fish and chips and a version of the dessert Eton Mess.


The duchess chatted to stars including Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson Catherine wore a flowing lilac dress with white waistband, by Alexander McQueen, and Jimmy Choo shoes.

The royal couple sat opposite Barbra Streisand and Nicole Kidman. Other stars at the reception included Jennifer Lopez, Sopranos' star James Gandolfini and producer Harvey Weinstein.

Hundreds of fans gathered behind crash barriers at the 1920s art-deco Belasco theatre and cheered as the couple arrived and stepped out onto the traditional red carpet.

The duke and duchess responded by walking over and shaking a few hands.

Prince William is president of Bafta and used the dinner to introduce a group of 42 emerging actors, producers, writers and videogame designers to the movers and shakers of the entertainment capital of the world.


Speaking at the event, the prince began with a joke: "I would like to thank Colin Firth for my perfect opening line - I have a voice," referencing The King's Speech, the Oscar-winning film which depicted his great-grandfather's struggle with a stammer.

Ahead of a reception in the theatre's ballroom, Duncan Kenworthy, the Academy's vice-president, told the celebrities and other guests in the room to "be cool" and not to rush at the royals when they came in, but the couple proved a big draw.

Stephen Fry, who was also at the dinner, explained the couple's stateside appeal: "We have something we can give them that no other nation on earth can give.

"If the grandson of the President of Italy arrived in Hollywood it wouldn't make half a paragraph, but the grandson of the head of state of Britain, i.e. the Queen, arrives and it is big, big news."

The couple's California trip follows a nine-day visit to Canada by the royals.

The duchess has drawn compliments for her fashion sense, with actress Rosario Dawson calling her style "effortless and elegant".

On Sunday - the final day of their North American tour - William and Catherine will attend a private reception for the American branch of Tusk Trust, a conservation charity of which the prince is patron.

Before flying back to the UK, they will also visit a community arts organisation in the deprived Skid Row area of LA, as well as a jobs fair staged by charities which support the reintegration of servicemen and women into civilian life.

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