William and Kate: The First Year Page #5

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that Catherine had to worry about.

What do you give the family

that has everything?

I think it is looked down on to be

very extravagant at Christmas

because I think the Queen probably

rightly feels

that if it is not set at the witty

and amusing level

that people do more perhaps than

they can afford.

Kate really really got it this year,

because what she brought to the

table, to give to her new family,

were pots of home-made jam,

and that went down a treat.

Coming up...

Prince William flies into the eye

of a storm...

In Argentina's capital,

their chant is,

'Get out of the Falklands!'

and the Duchess makes one little

girl's dreams come true.

We got a phone call to say that Amy

had been nominated by Alder Hey

to present the Duchess with flowers.

After their first Christmas together

as royals,

2012 began with Catherine and

William being separated...

when the Prince was deployed 8,000

miles away in the Falkland Islands.

Falkland islanders gearing up

for the 30th anniversary of the

Argentinian invasion

are also getting ready for a working

visit by Prince William.

Prince William will begin work at

this windswept base within days,

flying helicopters, living in basic

accommodation.

Part of being a services family

is separation.

That is part of life for Kate,

and I'm sure she knew about that.

It is what they want. It is part

of the normality that they want.

He's arrived in the Falklands

amid renewed tensions between

Britain and Argentina.

In Argentina's capital,

their chant is,

'Get out of the Falklands!'

It's addressed to Prince William,

who has just arrived there,

but also to Britain.

I think William's time

in the Falklands

really presented a perfect

opportunity

for Catherine to step out

and launch her solo career.

I don't know the ropes really

well yet,

but no, I am willing to learn

quickly and work hard.

She'll do really well. Yeah.

Very well.

With William away

serving Queen and country,

Kate's solo career kicked off

with a visit to the

National Portrait Gallery.

In London's West End,

a blizzard of Kate mania.

It was very straightforward.

It was an arrival,

the viewing of the art gallery

was private,

no cameras let in, a short

receiving line, and she left.

It went flawlessly.

From there, all the evidence

was that flying solo was just fine

as far as Kate was concerned.

With her first royal visit without

William successfully under her belt,

Kate's next visit was an altogether

more public affair.

A warm welcome in Liverpool for the

Duchess of Cambridge this morning

at the start of her busiest day

of solo engagements to date.

First stop, a visit to a charity

helping addicts to recover from

drink and drug dependency.

On Valentine's Day,

Catherine stepped out

for her second engagement,

and she visited The Brink,

which is the very first alcohol free

bar in Liverpool.

It is run by another of her

patronages, action on addiction.

She'd done a lot of research

and had come to the conclusion

that addiction was at the root cause

of so many problems in our society.

She felt that if you deal

with addiction,

you deal with all of those other

problems as well.

It's very important for them

to be seen to be in touch

with real gritty issues of the day,

and the addition centre does that.

With another visit close

to her heart undertaken,

Catherine's whirlwind tour

of Liverpool

took her to Alder Hey

Children's Hospital.

Hospitals really are a forum

where the royals excel.

It is an arena where their presence

is so appreciated.

The crowds turned out in force for

a glimpse of the new Duchess,

and for one little girl,

the day was a dream come true.

We've been going to Alder Hey

since she was nine days old.

She got diagnosed with

a heart condition.

We got a phone call

to say that Amy had been nominated

by Alder Hey

to present the Duchess with flowers.

I felt very excited,

and very happy.

She said she liked my coat,

and she said the flowers

were very pretty.

To meet the Princess...

It was like a fairytale.

The Duchess then continued her tour

of the wards.

She's got a natural warmth,

a dazzling smile,

and she was halfway there

before she even started speaking to

the patients,

and the patients really responded

to her.

If she couldn't speak a lot

about the medical condition,

she found something else that they

could speak about.

The boundaries that you perceive

with a royal visit

are time, time, time,

and they were broken.

Kate broke those down to spend time

with the children.

She spent a lot of time talking to

our patients.

It was very touching.

There was a buzz about the place

and it was really exciting.

A great day.

With Kate,

shades of Diana completely,

totally at ease, sit on the bed,

chat to a kid in hospital,

big smiles all round, made his or

her day. It's perfect.

So, you know, she's got the touch.

There's no doubt about that.

After a month on the road,

meeting and greeting,

lending her support,

making people smile,

hitting the odd hockey ball,

and handing out shamrocks

to the Irish Guards,

there was one royal duty Catherine

still hadn't performed.

That was to make

her first public speech.

It was her biggest test yet.

When you have to make a speech

that you know everybody has been

looking forward to for weeks,

and they know it's your first,

I think it must be utterly

terrifying.

She would have been very aware that

had she messed up,

that would have been the headlines

the next day,

not what she said, not the work of

the charity...

It would've been,

"Kate made a boob."

First of all,

I'd like to say thank you.

Thank you for not only accepting me

as your patron...

but thank you also for inviting

me here today.

She did a fantastic job.

She would have been relieved

to get the first one out of the way.

I'm only sorry that William cannot

be here today.

He would love it here.

She did well, and now she's done the

first one, it's onwards and upwards.

I feel enormously proud

to be part of East Anglia,

the Children's Hospices,

and to see the wonderful life

changing work that you do.

Thank you.

William will find that the wife he

once steered

through public engagements

like this,

is now more than comfortable

in public on her own.

With Catherine having to perfect

her skills all alone

while William was away,

at some events, she had a wealth of

experience to rely on.

In front of cheering crowds,

the Queen began her Diamond Jubilee

tour of the UK in Leicester today.

A few paces behind the Queen,

as ever, was Prince Philip.

A few more behind him, their

grand daughter-in-law Kate,

learning the royal ropes

from the experts.

The fact that the Queen invited Kate

to join her for the Diamond Jubilee

celebrations

it was really very, very touching,

Very special,

I think it must have made Kate feel

very welcomed into the royal family

and very privileged.

The Queen and Catherine really have

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