Royal Warrants have always demonstrated service, quality and excellence, and are highly prized. This time round we look at the history of one such Warrant Holder, a supplier of high quality gentleman’s clothes… Royal Life Issue 12

Royal Life reports on Prince Harry’s recent seven-day tour of Brazil and Chile… Royal Life Issue 12

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall both visited their respective namesake countries and counties recently as their busy schedule took them on visits to Wales, Devon and Cornwall… Royal Life Issue 12

The younger royals join Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall for moving World War 1 centenary commemorations… Royal Life Issue 12

Home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Kensington Palace has a rich royal heritage that modern day visitors can now explore… Royal Life Issue 12

There is little doubt that Kate and William will prove to be wonderful parents. They obviously love children as can be seen from their many encounters with them on their official tours and visits. It’s a long-mocked tradition that politicians like to kiss and hug babies in the hope of gaining votes, but the Royal couple obviously enjoy the company of children and are honest and affectionate with them. Whenever they are out and about, supporting their various charities or making public visits, they make easy work of bringing a smile to the little ones’ faces and always leave a lasting impression.

William and Harry’s mother Princess Diana was always determined to give them as normal a childhood as possible, and took the boys to local restaurants and theme parks. She was also regularly seen dropping them off at the school gates, and on one occasion was praised for making her children wait in a queue to see Father Christmas rather than jumping straight to the front as she could so easily have done. William also has a good parental role model in his father, Prince Charles, who had to bring both he and Harry up in extremely difficult cir- cumstances.

What with the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee, 2012 had been such a banner year for the Royal Family and Great Britain as a whole that 2013 was looking like a bit of an anti-climax. Then came the announcement that all of Britain had been waiting for: after 20 months of marriage to Prince William, Kate was pregnant! The news broke on December 3rd 2012, the same day that the Duchess was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in central London with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute morning sickness that requires supplementary hydration and nutrients. The King Edward VII hospital, which was founded by and named for one of his ancestors, has a long association with the royal family because of its discretion in treating most senior royals for a variety of ailments over the years.

“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,” the palace said in a statement. “The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news.”

Kate left hospital a few days later and smiled and posed briefly alongside William for a photograph, clutching a small bouquet of yellow roses, before stepping delicately into a waiting car. The couple’s office said at the time that she would be heading to Kensington Palace for a period of rest.

The news was greeted with joy in the U.K., spreading in a thoroughly modern way: via Facebook accounts, TV screens in pubs and train stations, and news alerts sent to mobile phones. Asked to comment on his wife’s condition, William joked about the inappropriate name of Kate’s recent illness. “I don’t know why they call it morning sickness,” he said. “They should call it all day and all night sickness. It’s a long old process but she is getting there.”

In an interview on BBC1’s Countryfile to commemorate the programme’s 25th anniversary, William’s father, Prince Charles, was asked whether the prospect of becoming a grandparent to Prince William and Kate’s first child, made him feel old. He replied: “Of course it does because you can’t believe, to a certain extent, that it’s going to happen in your life.”

On the morning of the Royal Wedding, Westminster Abbey?s giant loudspeak- ers started to play choir music at 8 a.m., and Big Ben, the bell inside the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, started chiming. A group of children chanted ?We love William, we love Kate.? The crowds were already in place, many of the well wishers having camped out overnight, some even for days beforehand. The most devoted of them had been given an unexpected treat the night before, when a beaming Prince William accompanied by his brother Prince Harry did an impromptu walkabout along the Mall and ordered mugs of tea to be served to the die-hard fans, who repaid him with cries of ?For he?s a jolly good fellow!?

Getting into the spirit of the occasion, many of the spectators were wearing felt Union Jack hats and were draped in giant flags. Some were dressed in Victorian style, with top hats and fake moustaches. Others had painted their faces. There were many international visitors among the happy throng, especially from America and Canada.

In a break with tradition Prince William elected to arrive early at Westminster Abbey in order to spend 20 minutes or so circulating with friends and relatives and so at 10.10am he and Prince Harry, his best man, left nearby Clarence House for Westminster Abbey, traveling in a claret State Bentley and arriving at 10.15am. Both princes drew admiring cheers. William looked regal and impressive in a red military tunic, the dress uniform of the Irish Guards, of which he is a Colonel since being appointed in February of that year by the Queen. Harry was in the uniform of, officer of the Household Cavalry, Blues and Royals. Of course the thronged crowds and an estimated global audience of over 2 billion were mainly waiting to see what Kate would be wearing, but they would have to remain in suspense for a little longer.

Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Middleton was born on the 9th of January, 1982, the eldest of three children born to flight attendant Carole Elizabeth and flight dispatcher Michael Francis Middleton, an airline officer for British Airways. Michael and Carole married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of St. James in Dorney, Buckinghamshire.

In 1987 Michael and Carole founded ?Party Pieces,’ a mail order company selling party supplies and decorations. The company prospered and made them millionaires. Catherine was raised in a modern five-bedroom detached house in the Berkshire village of Bucklebury and educated at St Andrew’s School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, South East England. She studied briefly at Downe House before moving on to Marlborough College, a co-ed independent school at Marlborough in Wiltshire in South West England. Then she completed her education at the University of St Andrews in the town of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. She graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in the History of Art… and it was here that she met William, and romance blossomed. In November 2006, she accepted a position as an accessory buyer with Jigsaw, the well-loved women’s wear chain, owned by fashion tycoons John and Belle Robinson ? close family friends of Kate’s. In September 2007 it was reported that she was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced that she intended to take private classes with famed photog- rapher, Mario Testino, who had taken several iconic photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her sons. –