Monday, July 11, 2011
From stars to Skid Row: Royals end California tour
Britain's Prince William speaks at the Mission Serve: Hiring Our Heroes event- Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William and wife Kate ended their southern California stay on Sunday, bearing witness to both the poverty of Skid Row and the power of Hollywood.
In their first trip to the United States since marrying in April, the royal couple chose to favor charity and business over celebrity in their three-day visit.
But the glitterati of Hollywood were never far away, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge drew the movie stars and studio executives to help raise funds and awareness for their causes in the entertainment capital of the world.
At their final event at Sony Studios to support military families and a job fair for veterans, William said he would take ideas home to Britain, where he serves as a Royal Air Force pilot and Kate is a military wife.
"I am delighted, therefore, that our Foundation -- and in that I include Harry, my low-flying Apache, very average brother -- is a partner in today's event," William quipped to the crowd. "We have much to learn from you."
Earlier in the day and far from the media glare, the royal couple was given a private tour of Skid Row, the gritty terminus for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles and a growing population of single mothers after the economic recession.
Kate drew a picture of a snail while the couple chatted to the children in a painting class
The tour was a late addition to the royal agenda and served as preparation for a visit to the Inner-City Arts Center for children living around Skid Row, one of the largest concentrations of homeless people in the United States.
The royal couple were given the opportunity to talk to children during their school visit
It was also a stark contrast to the opulent events on Saturday -- a charity polo match in coastal Santa Barbara and a black-tie dinner with Hollywood royalty.
OUTDOING HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR:
Even with the emphasis on work and business, wherever they went William and Kate brought a royal glamour that even Hollywood couldn't emulate.
At the bright and airy arts center, Kate, dressed in a navy lace top and white pleated skirt from UK retail chain Whistles, donned a smock and painted a snail along with the kids. William, sans smock, appeared to paint something more abstract. It gave the couple an opportunity to be playful in public.
"William, do you know what you're doing? Start from the center," Kate said. He took the direction and returned to his canvas.
The day had started off on a glamorous note as the duke and duchess attended a private brunch with Hollywood notables like actress Reese Witherspoon and the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, to garner interest in Tusk, a charity for African wildlife conservation.
They had also charmed the stars at the gala on Saturday night, where A-listers like Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Barbra Streisand turned out to support the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, of which William is president. He asked the Hollywood power crowd to give opportunities to a new generation of British talent.
The California leg of the 11-day overseas visit had none of the large crowds of their Canadian tour, and most Californians had to resort to the media to get a glimpse of the royals.
But for the lucky few, like Vietnam war veteran Jose Ramos, the contact with the potential king and queen of Britain was special. He gave William his original jump wings from 1966.
"When he thanked me for being a veteran and serving in Vietnam, I offered them to him and he said he'd wear it proudly," Ramos said. "That was my original set. I don't give those out lightly for sure. I've worn them every day since I received them."
"The Palace will view Kate's first trip abroad as a success. With her husband, she is presenting a fresh face for an ancient institution" -Peter Hunt Royal correspondent-
By Jill Serjeant and Alex Dobuzinskis | ReutersVictoria and David Beckham welcome baby girl Harper Seven was born Sunday morning and weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces
The Beckham family appeared together at the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards
TODAY news services
David Beckham's spokesman said that the soccer star's wife Victoria has given birth to a healthy baby girl on Sunday.
Simon Oliveira said that the celebrity couple are "delighted to announce the birth of their daughter."
"Happy and healthy she arrived at 7.55 am this morning at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles and weighed 7lbs 10oz," Oliveira posted on Twitter, adding that the Beckhams' three sons "are excited to welcome their baby sister to the family."
Later on Sunday, the soccer star revealed the little girl's name on Facebook: "I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham," Beckham wrote. "Victoria is doing really well and (Harper's) brothers are delighted to have a baby sister."
The Beckhams, who married in 1999 and whose celebrity is entrenched on both sides of the Atlantic, already have three boys: Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 5.
The baby was born the morning after Beckham scored directly from a corner kick to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire, extending his team's Major League Soccer unbeaten streak to 12 matches.
TODAY
Shuttle Atlantis docks with space station for last time
Click to play
Atlantis docks for the final time in the shuttle programme's history
Atlantis has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on the final mission of the US space shuttle programme.
It will spend at least seven days at the ISS and, on its return to Earth, will be retired along with the other shuttles in Nasa's fleet.
Atlantis is taking vital supplies to the space station, including more than a tonne of food, ensuring astronauts there have got enough to last a year.
The first shuttle mission was in 1981.
Robots:
At 1507 GMT on Sunday, Nasa mission control in Houston announced: "Contact, docking confirmed."
The naval bell on the ISS chimed to greet Atlantis.
"Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time," ISS astronaut Ronald Garan said.
The final flight
- 135 missions 33 for Atlantis
- 355 astronauts taken into space since 1981
- The fleet has flown well over 870,000,000 km
- The shuttle and its boosters have 2.5 million moving parts
- (Figures assume Atlantis completes mission)
- Space Shuttle Timeline
Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson replied: "It's great to be here station, see you shortly."
ISS astronauts photographed the shuttle as it did a backflip before docking, so that all of the craft can be studied for damage before its return to Earth.
Atlantis is carrying the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, a large cylinder containing more than 3.5 tonnes of food, other supplies and spare parts designed to sustain the station.
The cargo is to be lifted out of the shuttle's payload bay and attached directly to the station on Monday.
The Atlantis and ISS crews will then be able to go inside Raffaello to begin the process of transferring its contents to more permanent storage positions on the platform.
BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos says the delivery has major significance.
Once Nasa retires its shuttles, it will be relying on robotic spacecraft from private companies to make cargo runs to the ISS, he says.
Just one spacewalk will be performed during this mission.
This will be done by two of the station's residents, who will move an ammonia pump that recently failed on the station to the shuttle's payload bay.
The pump is an important component in the ISS cooling system and it will be taken back down to the ground so engineers can understand why it stopped working.
Atlantis is due to return to Earth on 20 July, bringing to an end Nasa's 30-year orbiter programme.
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Atlantis launches from Cape Kennedy
Atlantis itself will be made safe for public display at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex.
Nasa intends to use resources diverted from the shuttles to build a capsule capable of going to deep-space locations such as asteroids.
BBC News
Sunday, July 10, 2011
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