Cherubic, confident and already a fashion plate with his sailboat smocked dungarees from British designer Rachel Riley reportedly selling out in hours, it looked as if the eight-month-old George might have stolen the limelight from his parents.
We saw him owning a morning playgroup, thought to be the first time he has mixed with such a large group babies – there were 10 there all around his age. He chose the largest toy and was a photographer’s dream as he crawled and cooed, chewed his mum’s hair and even made eyes at baby Lily Gray as she sat in mum Alana’s arms. This was George’s only appearance aside from getting off the plane and the media frenzy it caused looked set to upstage his parents’ subsequent outings.
But the Duke and Duchess quickly shifted gear giving not just inch-perfect public performances – stopping for children, babies and hundreds of members of the public, the Duchess rubbing noses in the traditional Maori greeting like a local, respectfully laying a wreath and inspecting the military and talking to Christchurch’s earth quake victims – but also giving a unique insight into just how cool their relationship is, with subtle affectionate glances, knowing looks and chuckles.
As they enthusiastically competed against each other in a yacht race on Auckland harbour, on the rugby field and then came together for the adrenalin rush of the Shotover Jet through the River Canyons on the South Island, it was so wonderfully obvious that this is a couple not just in love but really enjoying their lives as young royals. There was the frisson of a 12-hour babygate enquiry when Prince William hinted at a future sibling for Prince George and the attending media immediately suggested the Duchess might be pregnant…until that is she took a sip of pinot noir at a winery and yes embarked on that body-jolting jetboat trip, not advised for expectant mums.
Their visit to our climes, Catherine’s first time in New Zealand and Australia, certainly did not look like an arduous task for them, this dynamic duo – at times a trio – seems to be having a ball and it’s a joy to witness.
Tomorrow they arrive in Australia and we’ll get to see more of Prince George and hopefully the Duchess in an evening frock at the Governor-Generals reception at Yarralumla in Canberra. Can’t wait.
