Kiss Me Kate: Australian fan kisses Prince William
She has the same glossy hair, designer sunglasses and name as his girlfriend — so perhaps she thought she would be in with a chance.
A blonde Australian called Kate pounced on Prince William and stole a kiss today as he greeted well-wishers in Sydney.
William took it in his stride with the ease that has won over crowds on his tour of New Zealand and Australia.
Kate Harvey, 24, pecked the prince's cheek in front of thousands of people at the Royal Botanic Gardens. He had stopped to talk to the crowds of teenage girls who screamed in excitement and held up "We love William" banners.
The encounter came the day after an Aborigine woman put William on the spot about marrying Kate Middleton.
As he toured a community centre, he was greeted by the woman who asked: "When are you getting married?"
"I keep saying it — wait and see," the 27-year-old prince replied, accepting gifts for Kate of a T-shirt and a dress. Today William joined Australia's prime minister Kevin Rudd to hear a performance of hip hop by a group of disadvantaged teenagers. "Awesome! Get them signed up straight away," he said as they finished. Asked about the music he liked, William said: "Mine is very varied. A bit of rock, a bit of Linkin Park, Kanye West." "That's my man!" said rapper Austin Anyimba.
But William told Mr Rudd: "I can't do any beatboxing — I'm not so good at that. I normally get the piss taken out of me, for my choice of music."
Later William visited an Army rifle range where he was caught taking a lavatory break. He also fired more than 100 rounds of ammunition and was told his performance had been "excellent", before meeting soldiers who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
At a barbecue for lunch in the Royal Botanic Gardens, the prince said he had loved his first two days in the city. "I have had the most warm welcome ever — not just with the weather but with all Sydney people," he said. "It has been a terrific couple of days, I've joked that I actually will buy a house in Sydney."
Tomorrow William will tour the devastated "Black Saturday" bush fire region, where he will talk to families who lost everything. Blazes raged across the southeastern Victoria state in February last year, killing 173 people and destroying more than 2,000 homes.
The prince returns home on Friday.
