Heavily pregnant Duchess of Cambridge launches new cruise ship

Blackleaf

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A heavily pregnant Duchess of Cambridge blessed a new 1,082ft cruise ship at Southampton today in what was her last solo public appearance before she gives birth to the future monarch next month.

Sporting a £169 dalmatian print coat from high street retailer, Hobbs, which she wore over a pretty, white knee-length dress accessorised with classic black court shoes and a neat black fascinator, the Duchess walked up the royal blue carpet to a rousing musical welcome courtesy of the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth and The Pipe Band of 1st Battalion Irish Guards.

Smiling broadly, the eight-months pregnant Duchess shook hands with officials and representatives from the cruise line watched by guests and a celebrity contingent that included veteran TV presenter, Sir Bruce Forsyth and former Atomic Kitten singer, Jenny Frost.

After a performance from pop singer, Natasha Bedingfield, the Right Rev Tim Dakin, Bishop of Winchester, blessed the ship and delivered a prayer before the Duchess smashed a £1,250 Nebuchadnezzar of Moet et Chandon champagne against the hull of the Royal Princess to officially name the ship.

Near miss: The Queen's granddaughter-in-law blinks as the Nebuchadnezzar smashes against the ship's hull just yards from her face


Crash! The Duchess of Cambridge looks on as the vast Nebuchednezzar of champagne smashes into the hull of the Royal Princess


Maybe you should save it for next month! The Duchess watches as the £1,250 Nebuchadnezzar of champagne crashes into the Royal Princess' hull


The Duchess, who is around eight months pregnant, looked relaxed as she stepped from her chauffeur-driven vehicle to the quayside in Southampton, after making the 80-mile journey from London by helicopter.

She took her place on a stage in blustery conditions that threatened rain and seated opposite in a large grandstand were guests associated with charities that have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge or Prince Harry as their patrons.

Spectators were from East Anglia's Children's Hospice, Kate's charity, SkillForce which has William as its figurehead, and Harry's organisation WellChild.

Captain Tony Draper invited the Duchess up to perform the naming ceremony on a nearby platform. Two youngsters, Isobel Rowbotham, 14, and her eight-year-old brother Charles, handed the Duchess a pair of scissors to cut a length of rope to launch the bottle into the hull.

The youngsters' brother died from a brain tumour while a toddler but they were supported by Kate's charity East Anglia's Children's Hospice.


Before cutting the rope, Duchess chatted to the pair, then carried out the ceremony, telling the guests: 'I name this ship Royal Princess, may God bless her and all who sail in her.'

The bottle was released and flew into the hull, smashing to a large cheer.

The 15-litre Nebuchednezzar of champagne was the third to be smashed today and came after at least two trial runs earlier this morning. In total, the champagne bill was thought to be in the region of £4,000.

The Duchess then looked on as the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth and The Pipe Band of 1st Battalion Irish Guards staged a colourful parade to round off the christening ceremony.

Despite the ship's regal name, the vessel was not named after the Duchess of Cambridge. Instead, the name was taken from the original Royal Princess ship which launched in 1984 and is no longer in service.

Becoming a ship's godmother is a symbolic position similar to a patron or sponsor that dates back to the mid-19th century when leading women were selected for the honour.

Princess Cruises has a history of illustrious godmothers for past ships including Diana, Princess of Wales, who named the first Princess Royal in 1984, actress Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, and Baroness Thatcher.

'Appointing a godmother to name a new ship is one of maritime’s oldest traditions,' said Paul Ludlow, UK Director of Princess Cruises.

The Royal Princess in registered in Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory.

People's duchess: The Duchess of Cambridge chatted happily with Isobel Rowbotham, 14, and brother Charles ahead of the ceremony

Captain Kate: The Duchess tries out a few buttons up on the Royal Princess' bridge much to the delight of Princess Cruises CEO, Alan Buckelew

Fit for a princess: The Royal Princess steams towards Southampton ahead of today's christening ceremony which will be overseen by the Duchess of Cambridge



 
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Spade

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Your future queen. The sooner Canada rids itself of these anti democratic and anachronistic vestiges of British class, caste, privilege, absolute rule, divine right, and subjugation the better.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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How come Kate is known as the Duchess and not Princess?
There are two ways to become a prince or princess. One is to be born in the royal line, like Charles, Andrew, Anne, and Edward and their offspring. The other is to marry someone who is a prince or princess by title, not by birth. Hence, the current Prince of Wales (by title, not birth, though he is also a prince by birth) is Charles (the heir apparent is always Prince(ss) of Wales). When (if) Charles takes the throne, William will become Prince of Wales. At that point, Kate will become Princess of Wales, because her husband will be prince by title as well as by birth. She will also remain Duchess of Cambridge.
 

Blackleaf

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Your future queen. The sooner Canada rids itself of these anti democratic and anachronistic vestiges of British class, caste, privilege, absolute rule, divine right, and subjugation the better.



By the way, I always thought Britain and Canada were constitutional monarch, not absolute monarchies.

As Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was launching a new ship today, her non-royal younger sister was watching the tennis at Queen's club in west London.

Pippa, who is the contributing editor of Vanity Fair, is a massive tennis fan and today she turned up with a male friend to watch British no1 Andy Murray play in the AEGON Championships against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. Also with her was her mother Carole.



Days after her guide to British tennis was published in Vanity Fair, Pippa Middleton - who will soon be an aunt to the future monarch - arrived with a friend at Queen's tennis club to take in the Andy Murray match today


Last week Pippa revealed in Vanity Fair that as a young girl she dreamed of winning Wimbledon, the world's oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament.

She says that she was an aspiring professional tennis player at the time, and remembers purchasing a postcard of the women's championship trophy and writing on it: 'I will win this one day.'

She admits that as a child, she imagined she would get married in tennis whites, 'shorts with no pleats or frills.'

Pippa, who is dating stockbroker Nico Jackson, 35, tells readers that she has now grown out of her tomboy phase, but that said, there will still be 'no white dresses this summer, apart from at my local tennis club.'

She says a favourite Wimbledon memory was queuing with her sister on People's Sunday in 2004 to get £35 tickets for Centre Court.

Pippa Middleton was joined with mother Carole to watch the action unfold

Pippa arrived early for the match, which will see Murray take on French hope Nicolas Mahut





 

talloola

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beautiful duchess and a beautiful ship. the duchess is glowing and very healthy looking, and i'm
sure she and william are very excited awaiting the arrival of their first child.

they are just regular good people, living a clean life, he is a hard working man, she is waiting
to be a mom, which is also a hard working life, and i'm sure this child won't be the last.

its nice for a change to read 'good' news about 'good' people, and not another political illegality,
or some criminal, or drug lord, or terrorist, or drunken driver.

I wish them well.
 

Christianna

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Dec 18, 2012
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There are two ways to become a prince or princess. One is to be born in the royal line, like Charles, Andrew, Anne, and Edward and their offspring. The other is to marry someone who is a prince or princess by title, not by birth. Hence, the current Prince of Wales (by title, not birth, though he is also a prince by birth) is Charles (the heir apparent is always Prince(ss) of Wales). When (if) Charles takes the throne, William will become Prince of Wales. At that point, Kate will become Princess of Wales, because her husband will be prince by title as well as by birth. She will also remain Duchess of Cambridge.
Thank you for that info. So because Prince Charles is the heir to the throne Diana was princess. I get it. So why isn't Camilla Princess Camelface? Having grown up in the US a lot of that royalty stuff was missing from our daily conversations.
 

WLDB

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Thank you for that info. So because Prince Charles is the heir to the throne Diana was princess. I get it. So why isn't Camilla Princess Camelface? Having grown up in the US a lot of that royalty stuff was missing from our daily conversations.

I think the Queen would rather die or abdicate than to give that title to Camilla. haha
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Thank you for that info. So because Prince Charles is the heir to the throne Diana was princess. I get it. So why isn't Camilla Princess Camelface? Having grown up in the US a lot of that royalty stuff was missing from our daily conversations.

It's complicated, but the short answer is that Charles and Camilla aren't married, according to the Church of England. By the church's law, if one commits adultery, one cannot divorce and the enter a legitimate marriage with the one with whom one committed adultery.

Yep, Chuckles married the only woman in Britain he wasn't allowed to marry.
 

WLDB

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It's complicated, but the short answer is that Charles and Camilla aren't married, according to the Church of England. By the church's law, if one commits adultery, one cannot divorce and the enter a legitimate marriage with the one with whom one committed adultery.

Yep, Chuckles married the only woman in Britain he wasn't allowed to marry.

ha. Nice form of rebellion.
 

Christianna

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Thanks again. If Charles becomes king, will Camilla be queen? As king can't he pretty well do what he wants in that regard? I read for instance that King Edward could have married Mrs Simpson and made her his queen anyway, but that he felt he needed his mothers permission.What about the fact that Diana died, wouldn't that make Charles a widower even though it was after the divorce?
 

Sal

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Thanks again. If Charles becomes king, will Camilla be queen? As king can't he pretty well do what he wants in that regard? I read for instance that King Edward could have married Mrs Simpson and made her his queen anyway, but that he felt he needed his mothers permission.What about the fact that Diana died, wouldn't that make Charles a widower even though it was after the divorce?
he only married Diana because they said he had to...he was boinking Camilla the whole time...that was one of the times Diana the crazy threw herself down the stairs while pregnant because he was going riding with Camilla...it's all a load of you know what.

Well, you have to be pretty careful with your rebellions when you're the heir apparent. If you rebel too hard, you could upset your own gravy train.
he will never be king...burned that bridge long ago...it's the happy pregnant couple being groomed

gawd remember the tampon recording that they made public about Charles wanting to be a tampon... the press is so lovely
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Thanks again. If Charles becomes king, will Camilla be queen?
That's an open question. From what I've heard, they're going to go with "Mrs. King" for Camilla. Perhaps they'll make her Princess Consort, as Phillip is Prince Consort to Elizabeth.

As king can't he pretty well do what he wants in that regard?
Nope, not for at least a century. The Crown can be regulated by Parliament. Mostly, folk are just trying to politely avoid the issues.

I read for instance that King Edward could have married Mrs Simpson and made her his queen anyway, but that he felt he needed his mothers permission.

Probably. It would have been a huge breach of royal protocol, but there was no civil or ecclesiastical legal bar to Ed marrying Wally.

What about the fact that Diana died, wouldn't that make Charles a widower even though it was after the divorce?
Nope. The key is that Charles committed adultery with Camilla. That makes her off-limits permanently, as regards a marriage legitimate in the eyes of the Church of England.

The problem is that one of the titles of the monarch is Defender of the Faith. She is the head of the CoE. Kinda awkward when the head of the church is in a marriage the church doesn't recognize. I suppose ecclesiastically, Camilla's just some bint Chuck sleeps with.