Prince William and Catherine made an unscheduled walkabout to greet hundreds of supporters outside City Hall yesterday, undeterred by anti-monarchist, Frenchspeaking separatists protesting nearby. The newly-weds were on the fourth day of a nine-day trip to Canada in what is their first official overseas trip since their April 29 wedding. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they are officially known, arrived in Quebec City Sunday morning on a Canadian navy frigate after an overnight trip from Montreal down the picturesque St Lawrence Seaway.

The royal couple encountered small but vocal protests for the second straight day during their visit to predominantly French-speaking Quebec. They began their Canadian trip in the largely English-speaking capital, Ottawa, where they were cheered by tens of thousands of people on Friday’s Canada Day holiday. Prince William and Kate sang hymns as they took part in a bilingual interfaith prayer service on the deck of the HMCS Montreal after it docked in Quebec City.

They then headed ashore for a meeting with residents of La Maison Dauphine, a centre that helps homeless youths. In a nod to Quebeckers, Kate wore a dark blue lace Jacquenta dress by the designer Erdem. It was the second time during the trip that she wore a dress from the collection of the Montreal-born, London-based Erdem Moralioglu.

—AP

Monaco comes to a standstill as stunning Charlene and Prince Albert exchange vows

One day after the civil wedding that transformed one-time Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock into the Princess of Monaco, the South African and her prince, Albert II exchanged vows in a religious ceremony on Saturday. The happy couple both answered ‘oui’ (yes) to the Archbishop of Monaco, Bernard Barsi, who conducted the service in front of 850 guests.

Wearing an off-the-shoulder Armani dress, the new Princess Charlene of Monaco looked serene and beautiful as she wed Prince Albert in the courtyard of the Prince’s Palace. The palace officials said the stunning gown took Armani’s team 2,500 hours to prepare, of which 700 hours was spent on the embroidery alone, using ‘kilometres’ of platinum-coated thread sewn into 130 metres of off-white silk. The gown would have been heavy for the new princess, as she would have had to carry the weight of 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl teardrops and 30,000 ‘stones in gold shades’. The dress’s crowning glory was the five-metre-long train made from 20 metres of silk tulle, which took 100 hours to make.

The groom looked smart in a cream summer uniform of Monaco’s palace guards, with his sleeves embroidered with oak and olive leaves. During the service, the couple exchanged 18-carat white gold platinum rings by Cartier, with Princess Charlene laughing as she placed the ring on her husband’s finger. After the mass, the couple went to the nearby Sainte Devote Church to lay down her bridal bouquet — a tradition in honour of the Patroness of Monaco.

— Daily Mail