In November 2009, the then Kate Middleton made a rare public appearance for the première of Tenacity on the Tasman, held at the Odeon Leicester Square. The movie charts the story of Olly Hicks, who at 23 became the first person to row solo from America to England. A keen rower herself, Kate was joined at the première by Holly Branson, whose father Sir Richard Branson helped to finance the movie.
Kate and Holly were quite close before the royal wedding, enjoying nights out - most notably Ms. Branson's Day-Glo-themed roller disco in 2008 - which raised funds for Kate's patronage Place2Be. During Kate's split from William, Holly invited her for a girls holiday on Richard Branson's Necker Island. We haven't seen the two together in years. Interestingly Holly's brother Sam married Isabelle Calthorpe, an old flame of Prince William and half-sister of Prince Harry's ex Cressida Bonas (these royal circles are close ones).
I actually remember reading about this event quite well, as it made many headlines and became a memorable pre-engagement appearance for a number of reasons. Firstly it was quite surprising to see Kate publicly at that time (unless one counts paparazzi photos); secondly engagement rumours were rife at the time; and thirdly for her look on the night. The outfit epitomised Kate's style before the wedding with a pretty fitted short dress, flat black suede boots, a stylish scarf and chic accessories from the high street.
You may recognise Kate's black jacket as the Ralph Lauren garment she wore the day after the royal wedding. It's been something of a staple in her wardrobe for several years.
Just a few weeks later, Kate joined William and Harry for the London première of Guy Ritchie's 'Sherlock Holmes' starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.
Unlike the first première we looked at, the trio were determined to avoid the photographers' lenses (it would take Mr. Holmes himself to avoid the paps at a première) and in order to do so, pointedly avoided the red carpet, which had been transformed into a Victorian street, and arrived five minutes after the movie had begun and exited using the back door. Clarence House said they didn't want to turn the opening night into a royal circus when it was an occasion for the actors.
In January 2012, the Duchess of Cambridge attended her first première as a member of the Royal family. Steven Spielberg's War Horse was screened in London's Leicester Square in aid of The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
The moving drama is set during World War One and follows Albert who enlists after his beloved horse Joey is sold to the cavalry. The movie adaptation followed on from the success of the play which coincidentally William and Kate went to see in 2009. After the screening Mr. Spielberg revealed the emotional movie moved the Duchess to tears and he passed her some Kleenex.
The Duchess looked stunning in the Temperley London 'Amoret' gown. The black lace dress with scalloped eyelash edges features a removable crepe bow belt. Such was the popularity of the garment, Temperley London released it and saw it sell out, with many 'Repli-Kate's' hoping to emulate the red carpet look.
Kate adores the dress and wore it again for the advance screening of David Attenborough's Alive 3D at the Natural History Museum.
 |
| PA |
There was an informal feel at the African Cats première in April 2012. The nature documentary follows a lioness and a cheetah with their offspring in Kenya's Masai Mara nature reserve. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and Sir Patrick Stewart, a portion of the proceeds went to the African Wildlife Foundation and the première was in aid of William's patronage Tusk Trust.
Kate chose an elegant dove grey dress with turquoise and gold encrusted details on the cuffs by Matthew Williamson. It was a fun event with 100 children from William and Kate's patronages present.
Last December the Cambridges were all smiles as they walked the red carpet for the première of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - the year's Royal Film Performance. Since King George VI attended a screening of A Matter of Life and Death in 1946 it has been royal tradition for a member of the Royal family to be present each year.
The Duchess brought back her very popular Roland Mouret 'Ella' gown for the night. Kate had a lot of input in the design of the bespoke piece. The designer later described working with her: "She's a fantastic person to work with. She's a woman of her time and a really nice person." Kate teamed it with a sparkly necklace from Zara.
Sadly, after the première guests were given the news Nelson Mandela had passed away, aged 95. The audience held a two-minute silence and as they left William made a brief statement: "I just wanted to say it's incredibly sad and tragic news. We were just reminded what an extraordinary and inspiring man Nelson Mandela was,"
Away from mingling with the stars at events, William and Kate enjoy nothing more than taking in a good movie at the local cinema anonymously. During their time in Anglesey they were spotted ordering popcorn and watching Bridesmaids and in London they saw The Avengers at their local Odeon cinema.
 |
| Rizzie Rahmz Twitter Feed |
Indeed, the couple's romance inspired a made-for-TV movie titled William and Kate. Now, if you haven't seen it, one could say it's not terribly accurate and for those who have it wasn't an Oscar worthy effort, however, it was all in good fun and coincided with the buzz and atmosphere surrounding the Royal family.
One wonders what William and Kate thought of it? I expect there may have been giggles if they caught a glimpse :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment