The Duchess of Cambridge apologised for leaving her "noisy" son Prince George behind as she was given cuddly toys and clothes for him on her first walkabout on the tour of New Zealand.
A crowd of 5,000 people turned out to cheer the Duchess and the Duke of Cambridge as they visited Blenheim on New Zealand's South Island today.
The couple were in town to lay a wreath as part of New Zealand's build-up to ANZAC Day, which falls later this month, but delighted the public by spending half an hour shaking hands and chatting to people who had waited up to four hours to see them.
Lilah Bowers, 10, who had turned out in a home-made Union Jack tiara with her sister Claire, five, gave the Duchess a black bracelet made out of rubber bands and was told by the royal visitor that it "could start a trend".
Lilah, from Blenheim, said: "We asked her about Prince George and she said she would have taken him everywhere but he would have been a bit noisy."
George was spending the day being looked after by his nanny Maria Borrallo at Government House in Wellington, the family's base during their tour.
Some well-wishers gave the Duchess teddies, kiwi soft toys, and clothes including bootees, but the majority had brought flowers for the Duchess, who wore a blue Alexander McQueen coat.
Pippa Sowman, five, gave the Duchess a posy picked from her own garden, from which another bouquet was picked for the Queen Mother when she visited in 1958.
The Duchess asked her name and said: "My sister is called Pippa too!" Pippa said: "She was really nice, really pretty."
One mother had an embarrassing moment when her nine-month-old son sneezed all over the Duchess.
Vicky King, 38, said: "I was holding Alton and he sneezed because he has got a bit of a cold at the moment. She got a bit of a fright – she said 'Oh!' "But they laughed, and I was OK about it, because even though she is royalty she is a mum too, and knows what it is like to have a baby. She took it all in her stride.
"I thanked her for coming, and she said that it was lovely to be here and Marlborough is beautiful. It was just wonderful that they came here. It says something about them as people, that they are thinking about the small town provinces."
After the Duke and Duchess laid their wreath at the town's war memorial, the couple chatted to military veterans.
Wilton Sterritt, 90, who served with the New Zealand Navy in the Second World War, showed the Duchess a photograph of himself with the Duke of Edinburgh when Mr Sterritt was working at the 1974 Commomwealth Games.
He said: "She looked at the picture and said 'that's marvellous, I've never seen that one before'."
Hannah Price, 33, was with her 7-month-old daughter Grace who chewed some flowers meant for the Duchess.
Mrs Price said: “We’ve been here since 6.30, I grew up with a mother who was a royalist and I’ve always followed them.
“We said to Kate ’the flowers are for you but the baby’s chewed them’.
“She said that Grace was a lovely accessory, beautiful.”
Diane Russell was celebrating her 69th birthday and friends had given her a “ birthday girl” badge. The Duke spotted her rosette and stopped to chat.
She said: “He asked me how old I was and then joked ’Oh 21 again!’ Then he asked me where was his invite to my birthday party and said he’d passed lots of Sauvignon Blanc vineyards so he could bring lots of bottles to the party!
“I told him I’d rustle something up for him-and that we had a date!
“It was all a bit overwhelming to be honest and such an amazing experience.
This is definitely a birthday I will never forget.
“I’ve been waiting here four hours and it feels like I’ve been having a birthday party right here.”
The Duke, like his wife, was also given a bracelet woven from rubber bands, and said they were “awesome”, putting one on his wrist.
The Duke asked five-year-old Milly Lane, who was there with her aunt Kelly Musgrove, 37, whether she was missing school to come along to see the royal couple. When she smiled and nodded, he said, “This is better than going to school.”
She said: “He is handsome. I liked him.”
Some young mothers held up babies for the new parents to see. Emily Stein, 27, from Blenheim, had Ada, nine months, in a papoose, said, “I was hoping that they might think she could be playmates as they’re the same age!” Stein was impressed with how William made eye contact, as he greeted well-wishers with ’hellos’. And he was much faster than his wife on the other side.
“He is very efficient, you can tell he’s a pro,” Mrs Stein said. “Kate might learn quickly that she can’t talk to everyone!”
Dorothy Cookson, 67, was holding a banner featuring the Duke and Duchess's coat of arms. She said: "The Duchess asked where I had come from and I said we left at 7am for a two-hour drive. It's a real privilege for us to see her, and it's great for the town."
In an echo of what happened when the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Australasia in 1983, crowds standing on the side of Blenheim's town square that was worked by the Duke were clearly disappointed that they had not met the Duchess.
Some shouted "Princess Kate!" to attract her attention and cheered when she turned around and waved.
据英媒报道,剑桥公爵夫人在新西兰的首次出行中收到民众为乔治王子准备的可爱玩具和衣服,她为未携带“吵闹的”的小王子而道歉。
剑桥公爵夫妇今日访问新西兰南部岛屿布莱尼姆,5000位民众参加了欢迎仪式。
公爵夫妇在布莱尼姆镇献上花圈,以迎接即将到来的澳纽军团日,纪念牺牲的士兵们。他们还和当地民众握手并聊天长达半个小时,这让为了见他们而等了四个小时的人们激动不已。
10岁的赖利·鲍尔斯与5岁的妹妹克莱尔一起,她戴着印有英国国旗的自制头饰,将橡皮筋制成的黑色手镯送给公爵夫人,并受到了“可能引领时尚”的称赞。
来自布莱尼姆的赖利说道:“我们问到乔治王子,公爵夫人说她本想带小王子到处看看,但他有点吵。”
乔治王子由保姆玛利亚·波拉罗照顾,正在位于惠灵顿的总督府内,这也是公爵一家此次行程的住处所在。
一些祝福的民众准备了泰迪熊,几维鸟玩具和包括毛线袜在内的衣服,但大部分民众还是带来了鲜花,送给身穿Alexander McQueen蓝色外套的公爵夫人。
5岁的皮帕·斯诺曼从自家的花园里摘了一束花送给公爵夫人,1958年伊丽莎白女王访问新西兰时收到的花束同样来自这一花园。
公爵夫人问了她的名字后说道:“我妹妹也叫皮帕!”皮帕说:“她真的很漂亮。”
当9个月大的儿子将喷嚏溅到公爵夫人身上时,38岁的维姬·金感到很不好意思。
她说:“我正抱着奥尔顿,他因为感冒打了个喷嚏。公爵夫人吓了一跳——说‘哇!’但他们都笑了,我也不担心,因为即使她是皇室,但同时也是位母亲,了解有孩子的情况。对此,她十分从容。”
“感谢她的到访。她称赞马尔堡很美,说很高兴到这儿来。他们能来这儿实在是太棒了,据说他们和普通人一样喜欢小城镇。”
公爵夫妇在战争纪念碑旁献上花圈,并与退伍老兵交谈。
90岁的威尔顿·斯特里特曾在二战期间效力于新西兰海军。他向公爵夫人展示一张照片,是他在1974年英联邦运动会工作时与爱丁堡公爵的合照。
他说:“她看着照片感叹‘太神奇了,我从未见过这张照片。’”
33岁的汉纳·普赖斯带着7个月大的女儿格雷斯,孩子正咬着为公爵夫人准备的花。
普赖斯说:“我从早上6:30就等在这里。我妈妈是保皇派,所以我一直支持他们。”
“我对凯特说‘这花是为你准备的,但被格雷斯咬了。”
“她夸赞格雷斯是美丽可爱的小天使。”
黛安·拉塞尔正庆祝她69岁生日,朋友送给她“生日女郎”的徽章。公爵注意到她佩戴的玫瑰形饰物,停下来与她交谈。
她说:“他问我的年龄,我开玩笑说‘回到了21岁!’,他又问我要生日派对的邀请函,还说他去过很多次白苏维翁葡萄园,到时候可以带不少葡萄酒去派对!”
“我告诉他会准备点东西,然后来次约会!”
“说实话,这一切来得太快,太让人感到惊奇了。”
“这绝对是我永生难忘的生日。”
“我等了四个小时,感觉就像在这儿开了生日派对一样。”
同公爵夫人一样,公爵也收到了橡皮筋织成的手镯,并戴在手腕上,夸赞它们“太棒了”。
5岁的米莉·莱恩跟着37岁的阿姨凯丽·慕斯格鲁夫,公爵问她是不是为了来看他们而没有上学,小女孩笑着点点头。公爵说:“这比上学要好。”
她说:“他很帅,我喜欢他。”
一些年轻妈妈抱着自己的孩子想让这对初为父母的夫妇看。27岁来自布莱尼姆的艾米丽·斯坦带着九个月大的小婴儿艾达,她说:“我希望他们能让差不多年纪的艾达和小王子成为玩伴!”威廉王子向祝福民众问好并进行眼神交流,这让斯坦印象深刻。他比另一边的公爵夫人要快得多。”
“他很有效率,可以说很专业,”斯坦说,“凯特可能要赶快学习,不能和每个人都说话!”
67岁的多萝西·库克森举着印有公爵夫妇盾徽的横幅。她说:“公爵夫人问我从哪里来,我说我们早上7点就出发了,开了2个小时的车。不过非常荣幸见到她,这是布莱尼姆镇的骄傲。”
与1983年威尔士亲王夫妇访问澳大利亚时的情况相同,站在布莱尼姆广场另一头的民众见到了公爵,但明显对于未见到公爵夫人表示失望。
“凯特王妃!”,有人这样叫道以吸引她的注意,她一转身便引来欢呼,人们纷纷向她挥手致意。
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