She’s got fashion designers begging her to wear their clothes – but when Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge visited the Solomon Islands yesterday she decided to ditch her expensive clothes for something more casual.
The Duchess had planned to wear a gown she brought with her from London for a banquet with the Governor General, but instead wore a pink and orange strapless dress given to her by her hosts. “She tried it on, she loved it and she is wearing it,” said a royal aide.
Prince William and Kate were greeted by a crowd of 70,000 on their arrival in the Solomons’ capital Honiara. The couple were driven through the streets on a specially made Tomoko war canoe decorated with shells and feathers mounted on a white Toyota mini van, and the couple were given frangipani garlands to wear.
Prince William wore a tropical blue shirt
Speaking at the dinner later that night, Wills, who wore a blue tropical shirt, said he was enjoying the hospitality they had received in the island nation. “This land is the most beautiful place imaginable, and the people of the Solomon Islands are amongst the most gracious and friendly we have ever met. The Queen told us this would be so, and as with so much else in her long reign, Her Majesty was absolutely right.
“Catherine and I were overwhelmed with the warmth of the reception we received this afternoon. Our expectations were pretty high after what the Queen had told us, but nothing had prepared us for the welcome we received.”
The couple looked relaxed despite the publication of topless photos of Kate.
Though the couple seemed in good spirits while in the Solomons, they are said to have been deeply upset by recent topless photos of Kate that were published in French magazine Closer and in the Irish Daily Star. Italian magazine Chi claims to have 200 photos of Kate and plans to publish 50 of them in an upcoming 26-page special. The editor of Chi, Alfonso Signorini, has tweeted that “not even a direct call from the Queen” would stop him from publishing the pictures.
Laurence Pieau, the editor-in-chief of Closer magazine, revealed last week that she had more revealing photos of Kate that she did not publish. “I won’t hide the fact that there are more intimate pictures that exist that we haven’t published and will not publish,” she said
