Cambridge goes wild for the Cambridges as 15,000 of New Zealand's most ardent Royalists turn out for the Duke and Duchess   12 Apr 2014

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted by some of the biggest crowds of their tour to New Zealand today.
More than 15,000 people turned out to greet the royal couple in Cambridge - a town where the entire population is just 18,000.
And while all were dazzled by the Duchess, who was wearing a stunning green Erdem coat, Kate admitted that her own husband wasn't a fan.

More than 15,000 people turned out to greet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Saturday in New Zealand's town of Cambridge
She told local Evie Hayes, 68, who admired her outfit: 'I like it but William thinks it is a bit bright.'
Cambridge was named after George William Frederick Charles, Queen Victoria's first cousin and the second Duke of Cambridge.
For 39 years he was the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army and a powerful figure in the British establishment.
 
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Two British generals decided to lend his name to a settlement at the head of the Waikato region.
The couple arrived to defeating cheers as they entered the local town hall to meet dignitaries and laid two red roses on the nearby War Memorial.
After the formalities were over, the couple embarked on a walkabout, shaking hands with dozens of members of the public, some of whom had slept out overnight.
  
The Duchess told Alison Pizzini, 75, a former midwife who complemented her on baby George: 'He can be a bit of a handful sometimes.'
She was also taken aback by rather eye-catching replica ornament of her holding her son when they left hospital.
It belonged to Pam McCaroll, 74, from Kati Kati, who is a devoted royalist with more than 1,000 items of memorabilia in her collection.
Mrs McCaroll who had driven an hour and a half and waited more than five hours to see the couple, showed Kate the $80-£40 - ornament.
'Oh my goodness, she said, is that me?!' Mrs McCarol said.
'I think she thought I was offering it to her but I told her that it was the pride of my collection.
'I love the royal family, the history and the continuity. When I was younger I used to pretend I was the Queen and stand on our veranda waving.'

Two elderly women camped out for two nights in wet weather just to see the couple.
'It's my own fault, I didn't check the date,' said Catherine Beazley. After walking round the town on the first night Ms Beazley, who had brought no more with her than a toothbrush and some soap, said she had to sleep under the town's Rotunda after it started raining.
'But I got cold and had to buy another jacket,' said Ms Beazley, who lives in the nearby town of Kohukohu.
She said: 'I've always been brought up to believe that my family was related to the royals through my grandmother's side.
'I think they are wonderful and it would be madness to get rid of the monarchy.
'My kids even looked like George when they were babies.
'I remember seeing the Queen when I was a kid, and all I could see through the legs of the crowd was her handbag. I'll never forget it.

I thought I had better get here early to get a good view and it was worth it. They were beautiful.'
Penny Mikkelsen, 73, said: 'My family just chuckled at me and said, "Oh, mom." My husband said, "Are you really going to go?" I think he thought that at the last minute I would say I wasn't going to go.
'There was no way that I would miss the chance to be as close to them as possible.'
'It's the greatest day of my life.'
'I just wanted to thank them for what the royals have done for us, particularly in wartime.'
Kelly Bidois was overcome with emotion as her eight year-old daughter Amber gave Kate a posy of flower 'We've been here since 5.30 in the morning but it's been worth it. Kate is gorgeous,' she said.
Earlier the Duke of Cambridge used his only solo visit of the Royal Tour to indulge his passion of planes.

The Duke visited Pacific Aerospace on Saturday morning in Hamilton where he unveiled the world’s most versatile aircraft - the Mark III P-750.
There were cheers from the 200 strong crowd gathered outside the production plant in Hamilton as the Duke cut the red ribbon after spending 30 minutes touring the company’s HQ with CEO Damian Camp.
The pilot prince revealed that he no longer flies as much as would like, and that there is still plenty of healthy rivalry between him and his younger brother Prince Harry when it comes to the cockpit.
'He said there’s plenty of healthy rivalry and Harry likes the fact that he’s a weapons controller while William is Search and Rescue.
‘He said he’s still doing some flying but not as much as he would like. He said he would come back and do a flight in the Mark III. He seemed very impressed with the take off,' said Mr Camp.

On display was the latest version of the P-750 which, with its ability to take off from a very short runway and touch down on unprepared landing strips, can be used in a variety of roles from carrying skydivers to transporting humanitarian aid or goods from remote villages in developing countries.
Many of the firm's staff and senior management had brought their families to see the Duke and when he arrived for his solo engagement.
The Duke received presents – including a miniature rugby ball for Prince George during the visit as well as 'Chiefs' rugby shirts (the local rugby team) for himself and Kate.
‘He said George has settled into a nice routine but was keeping Mum and Dad on their toes but they're all enjoying their stay.
‘He's got a bonny young boy who is eight months old and he's getting to that stage when he was interacting with things and keeping them busy,' added Mr Camp who gave the Duke a tour of the assembly plant where a red carpet was rolled out ahead of the royal arrival.
The Duke seemed delighted to view the latest technology and see close up the Mark III's impressive engine, which allows it to take off and land with a minimal runway. The utility planes are mostly used for operations purposes including humanitarian missions in Papa New Guinea, commercial ventures and agricultural use including spraying crops.

'He said this sort of craft would be excellent in Africa,' said aircraft assembler Martin Reid.
Dressed in a dark blue suit and pale blue shirt and tie with a poppy pinned to his lapel, the Duke seemed genuinely interested as he spoke with engineers and aircraft specialists. When he stepped into the cockpit of the Mark III he joked; 'Are we going for a test ride?'
Sadly there was not enough time in the schedule for the Prince to enjoy the short demo.
He did however make the time for two walkabouts and took several minutes to comfort Elaena Camp, Mr Camp’s six year old daughter who was stung by a wasp moments before the royal arrival.
'William was very kind and seemed very concerned for Elaena. He wished her better and when he met her again at the end, he asked how she was feeling and told her to get well soon,' said Elaena’s mother Sharlene Camp.
The Camp family presented William with a box of gifts including a miniature rugby ball for Prince George. 'William said he enjoys rugby and would be playing rugby with George back at home.'
The Duke also received a wooden box filled with pens. The box was crafted from wood from the Britannia by an engineer at the plant and the Duke joked; 'Shall I ring up my grandmother and say "we’ve found the other part of the Britannia?"'
   
While the Duke was touring the Pacific Aerospace, the Duchess of Cambridge had tea for two with a girl coming to terms with her mother's terminal cancer.
Sat at a tiny table, Kate and six-year-old Bailey Rupe enjoyed the very British ritual as the royal guest visited the Rainbow Place children's hospice in Hamilton, New Zealand.
The Duchess, who is patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospice, shared the private moment with the girl whose mother has breast cancer, and left her feeling like a ‘princess’.
In the therapy room where the six-year-old has sessions with her counsellor Bailey showed the Duchess how she uses hand puppets to explain her feelings about her mother's terminal illness.
Jennifer Doolabh, 27, was given six weeks to live when she was pregnant with Bailey's brother Matthias, now aged three months, and was told to abort her baby, but refused.
The Duchess, who wore a green Erdem coat over a green and white Suzannah dress, sat down at a child's tea party table with Bailey and asked: ‘Are you having tea? Can I sit with you? How is mummy doing

‘Do you find it difficult sometimes? Yes, I'm sure you do, but you're a very brave little girl.’
Bailey said afterwards: ‘I was excited to meet a real princess and it made me feel like a princess for the day too.’
Kate was shown around the building which supports children with life-limiting illnesses and youngsters who have experienced a bereavement or are coping with parents who are terminally ill.
While the site has some residential facilities for overnight stays, it is mainly used as a day centre where families can come for counselling.
The Duchess had a five-minute briefing with the hospice's chief executive Craig Tamblyn and also a private chat with Sam Ogilvy, 12, whose father drowned two years ago.
The youngster used a visual aid to tell the Duchess how he lost his father.
Sam said: ‘I told her about my journey by using the sand tray. She was really nice. She quite liked the sand tray idea of telling the story.’
  
The Duchess also visited the hospice's art therapy room where she met five children who were decorating boxes to explain how they were coping with their parents' illnesses.
She said: ‘It looks far too tidy to be an art therapy room. There's normally paint everywhere and I normally end up getting some on myself.’
Sisters Nicole Keene, 11, and Ashleigh Keene, nine, who are coming to terms with the news that their mother Deborah has terminal throat cancer, chatted to the Duchess.
Nicole said: ‘It's good here because it helps us open up and talk about it. Kate was very pretty so it was very exciting to meet her.’
Ms Keene, 40, was in tears as she spoke about the support she has received from the hospice: ‘I was given six months to live last September and these guys at Rainbow Place are awesome. They help the kids a lot.’
Kate then went into the teen room where she saw teenagers enjoying a game of Pukana, which means ‘big eyes’ in Maori.

The players stood in a circle and repeated the word Pukana in turn until one decided to change direction and sent the word back the other way.
The Duchess asked them: ‘Are you able to talk amongst yourselves and share your experiences? I'm sure you're going through difficult times but it's great to have a place like this to help you.’
Kate then went to an Alice in Wonderland themed Mad Hatter's Tea Party, held in a teepee-style marquee in the hospice's garden, featuring a candy floss machine, carnival games and a Narnia wardrobe that opened into a snowy back room.
Hamish Taylor, a 17-year-old with muscular dystrophy, gave Kate a gift of a grey onesie for Prince George with his name embroidered on it.

‘She said, “Thank you very much, I can't wait to show it to him”,’ he said.
Jacqui Frazer, 47, who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, met the Duchess and told her she was once in a play with the Earl of Wessex during his time at Wanganui collegiate.
She said: ‘I told her that when Charles and Diana were over in 1983 I went to tea with them so it's a nice bit of symmetry to meet her too.’
Ms Frazer's daughter, Clementine Frazer-Wilkins, said: ‘I made a wish that the Duchess would talk to me and it came true.’
As Kate was leaving, she was handed a posy of cream flowers from Kaiya Miller, six, who has cystic fibrosis. Kaiya said: ‘I thought the Duchess would have smiley eyes, and she did.’
   

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NZNewsUK were at Cambridge and took additional photos of the crowd who had gathered to greet the royal couple.

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