Kate Middleton word-perfect for Welsh anthem
Kate Middleton and Prince William today received a rousing welcome on their first royal walkabout.
Hundreds of wellwishers gathered in north Wales hours in advance to see the couple name a RNLI lifeboat Hereford Endeavour at Trearddur Bay in Anglesey, near where William works as a RAF search and rescue pilot.
Miss Middleton, 29, escaped embarrassment by singing the Welsh national anthem, Land Of Our Fathers, as well as God Save The Queen.
Braving blustery winds, she was dressed in a long tailored coat, with brown collar and had her hair swept up into a pony tail and topped with a feathered fascinator by Philip Treacy. William wore a dark suit and winter coat, buttoned up against the wind.
It was their first official engagement since the marriage plans were announced, though they attended a Teenage Cancer Trust event in Norfolk in December.
The couple will marry at Westminster Abbey on April 29. Today is the 30th anniversary of the announcement of the engagement of William's parents, Prince Charles and the then Lady Diana Spencer.
The crowds in Trearddur Bay were entertained by the Menai Bridge Brass Band and the Holyhead Male Voice Choir. The lifeboat station was first opened in 1967 and since then, RNLI volunteers have launched the lifeboat 873 times and saved 202 lives.
It was reported today that William has been involved in his first search and rescue mission in which the victim died. He was co-pilot in a Sea King helicopter that was called to rescue a pensioner who fell 150 feet off a cliff while walking her dog. Barbara Mageean, 73, was lifted by stretcher into the helicopter but was dead on arrival at hospital in Bangor.
