William, Kate and Harry Support Zara Philips at Greenwich

William, Kate and Harry were at Greenwich Park today to support the princes' first cousin Zara Philips as she competes in the Equestrian Crosscountry.

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The Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were also on the sidelines.

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The scenic Greenwich Park is London's oldest park, dating back to 1433 and has been strongly associated with royalty since the land was inherited by Henry V's brother. There is a large grassland enclosure, covering almost thirteen acres which serves as a sanctuary for deer, foxes and birds. The park is the host venue for the Olympic Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon events and the Paralympic Equestrian events. 

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Kate greeting Camilla.

Daily Mail/Murray Sanders

Kate seemed to enjoy the event immensely. 

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The couple reading the programme.

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Thirty one year old Zara Philips is the daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Mark 
Philips. Princess Anne did not want her children to have a title but Zara is fourteenth in line to the throne. Zara was voted BBC Sports personality of the year in 2006, sadly her horse Toytown suffered injuries which meant she missed out on the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. 


Both her parents competed in the Olympics in equestrian competition (Princess Anne in 1976 and Captain Mark Philips in 1972 winning gold) so one could say it is in her blood. This time Zara is determined to go for gold with her horse High Kingdom and I wish her the very best of luck!

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Zara performed wonderfully and was visibly delighted with her performance.

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Kate is wearing her navy Smythe blazer. It was available for $357 at Saks but is now sold out. The Duchess first wore it twice during the Canada tour (Smythe is based in Toronoto) 

Canadian Heritage Flickr/Smythe

The Duchess wore the London 2012 Olympic Games Logo Pin Badge  on the lapel of her blazer. It is available in green, blue, pink and orange for £6.

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Kate wore the Givenchy SGV 761 Sunglasses (A huge thank as always to Anna)

Givenchy

Kate is also wearing her navy J Brand 811 jeans, a white Team GB Adidas shirt and navy wedges.

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To see some lovely photos of William and Kate holding hands and a full length shot of Kate's outfit please click here.


Tomorrow the royals will attend the jumping finals where they are expected to hand out medals. Before that, Kate has a solo engagement this evening at the UK Creative Industries reception. It's going to be a very glitzy black tie event apparently.

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Finally, a photo of a Kate look-alike caused quite a stir at the Olympics on Saturday with many questioning could it be Kate?

Twitter

It was later revealed the lady in the photo had attended ladies day at the park with a Pippa look-alike. The cream lace McQueen repli-Kate is beautiful (although the nude heels were a giveaway, Kate would almost certainly team the dress with her Sledge pumps). Do you think the ladies resemble the Middleton sisters?

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The Queens Tells Kate to Curtsy to 'Blood Princesses'

Duchess Kate is married to the future King and will one day be Queen Consort but newly updated protocols reportedly approved by the Queen state that there are several women in the royal family  to whom she must show reverence. A document has been privately circulated to clarify Kate's status meaning she will have to curtsy to the 'blood princesses' when Prince William is not present. The aforementioned 'blood princesses' are the Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Royal historian Brian Hoey predicted when William married Kate that

'Kate will take the rank of her husband, which means that when she's at court, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie should curtsy to her. But I don't think there's any chance they will. While William feels warmly towards his cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie, he's conscious of the fact that they are lesser royals. As future King, he will will wish to see them behaving correctly towards their future Queen - but their attitude is likely to be : "Why should I? I was born royal - Kate wasn't".

It would seem Mr Hoey's prediction was correct. The Order of Precedence was last updated in 2005 after Charles married Camilla so that neither the Princess Royal nor Princess Alexandra would have to curtsy to Camilla when Charles was not present. Despite being married to Princess Edward, the Queen's son, the Countess of Wessex will have to curtsy to Kate. 


MP Ian Austin shared the news via Twitter.

Ian Austin Twitter

From The Telegraph Article

'The Order of Precedence affects other aspects of royal protocol, such as who arrives first at an event. For example, Camilla was forced to wait in the drizzle outside the Guards Chapel, Windsor for the arrival of Princess Anne at a memorial service in 2006, because Charles had not accompanied her'.

Kate curtsying to the Queen at the royal wedding.

AP

Protocol is taken extremely seriously by the royal family and the recent 'update' is reportedly to avoid a battle of egos. While I think it is appropriate for Kate to curtsy to the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall because of their seniority within the royal household I disagree with the notion she should curtsy to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie when unaccompanied by William. As future Queen Consort I believe the Duchess should be of the same rank as William at all times, not only in his presence.


In accordance with the Queen's wishes only seven royals appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the jubilee weekend because Her Majesty wanted to focus on the direct line of succession and the future of the throne. Not one of the ladies Kate is required to show reverence too was asked to join the senior royals on the balcony, so one must wonder why Her Majesty presented such a united front to the public yet in private had chosen to update the protocol which would disgruntle William. Royal observers said the Prince would be 'less than happy'.


I would love to hear your thoughts on this, looking forward to your comments.

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William and Kate Watch Athletics, Videos + Hello Canada Cover

Hello, I hope you're all enjoying the weekend, 


William and Kate watched the athletics at Olympic Park tonight. Kate was scheduled to attend the hockey earlier today but this was cancelled as she went yesterday.

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There was applause in the stadium when the couple arrived.

Matthew Lumby Twitter

Also in attendance were Prime Minister David Cameron (as you would have gathered from the above tweet :)) Princess Anne and Stella McCartney.

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An aerial view of the park. Click here to see a panoramic view of the stadium. Move the picture to see an all round look.

Wikipedia

Kate is wearing her Team GB fleece, navy jeans and pearl drop earrings.

The Cambridges congratulated silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead who described the couple as 'even more lovely and beautiful in real life'. A huge congratulations to Lizzie and Jessica Ennis who won a gold medal for Team GB.

Lizzie Armitstead Twitter

Many of you were interested to see William and Harry's interviews from yesterday. To view the BBC interview please click here. The Channel 9 interview is here and Click here to view the Canadian CTV interview.

Daily Mail/BBC

You can view a video of William and Kate's visit to Team GB house at ITN Source.

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Kate on the cover of Hello! Canada's Fall Style Issue (With thanks to Royal Beans)

Hello!/Royal Beans Twitter

Finally Tim Montgomerie photographed London Bridge with an additional ring. The moon works wonderfully in this lovely shot.

Tim Montgomerie Twitter

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William and Kate Hug as Team GB Cycling Takes Gold

William, Kate and Harry watched the Olympic cycling at Velodrome this evening.

It is an unexpected appearance for the trio as the press were asked to keep it secret. Perhaps the Palace were unsure if they would make it or not announcing it was due to security reasons.

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Kate talking to Sir Tim Lawrence, Princess Anne's husband.

There was bad news in store for Team GB this evening. Cyclists Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were disqualified for a change over error.


From BBC Sport

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Kate met Jess and Victoria at the Olympic Village yesterday.

Abby Burton Twitter

Located in the north of the Olympic Park, Velodrome is one of the most iconic and sustainable venues of the London 2012 games. The track cycling arena has capacity for 6,000 spectators, with the seating split into two tiers. Construction of the Velodrome started in March 2009 and was completed less than two years later.

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A look inside the venue.

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Kate wore her Team GB polo shirt, J Brand jeans, pearl earrings and wore her hair in a ponytail.

Again, Kate wore her Stuart Weitzman for Russell and Bromley Corkswoon wedges in 'nice blue'. The £245 shoes are Kate's 'go to' Olympic shoes.

Stuart Weitzman

The Stuart Weitzman team expressed their delight via twitter.

Stuart Weitzman Twitter

The couple were delighted when Team GB's men's sprint team won gold in record time. 

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One of the nicest photos I've seen of William and Kate :)

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You can watch a video showing the couple hugging here.

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