Young royal fan steals the show as Kate and William arrive in Anglesey
A four-year-old boy became a crowd favourite after wooing Prince William and Kate during their trip to Wales. See photos.
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A young royal fan stole the show when he greeted Prince William and Kate Middleton with a posy of flowers as they arrived back in Anglesey to begin their tour of Wales.
Theo Crompton appeared overjoyed as he met the Wales after they arrived at the Holyhead Lifeboat Station on Tuesday local time.
The chatty four-year-old presented Kate with flower and quickly became a crowd favourite as people gathered to welcome the Prince and Princess back to Wales.
The couple lived in Anglesey as newlyweds and raised their firstborn George there.
Prince William and Kate were bowled over by the rapturous welcome in Holyhead as they returned to the nation without carrying on a major royal tradition of the House of Wales.
Prince William has forgone a formal investiture ceremony as Prince of Wales like his father received before him.
Then-Prince Charles was officially invested as Prince of Wales in 1969 by the Queen, who formally presented her son to the Welsh people as their prince by placing a coronet on his head as he vowed to become their ”liegeman of life and limb”.
The couple are said to be approaching the role more humbly, particularly as Princess Kate has taken the title over from Prince William’s mother, Diana.
“The new Princess of Wales appreciates the history associated with this role but will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path,” a source close to the couple said.
“The couple are focused on deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales over time.”
As the official period of mourning for the late Queen ended, the favourite royals appeared in high spirits waving to baying crowds.
The royal pair recently promised in a statement after the Queen’s death that they hoped to forge a “deepening trust and respect” they have with people of Wales having made their first home as a married couple at a four-bedroom farmhouse on Isle of Anglesey for three years until 2013.
William and Kate are travelling through Wales and after Holyhead in the north, where they met crew from the oldest RNLI Lifeboat Station on the coast, they headed to St Thomas Church in Swansea in the southwest.
They strolled along the Holyhead Marine and Cafe Bar where they chatted to locals and small business owners and organisations, including the coastguard and sea cadets.
Holyhead is familiar ground to the royals, it is 27km from the secluded farmhouse the prince and princess rented as newlyweds on the Isle of Anglesey, or Ynys Mon, during the time William was an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot.
It is also where they raised their eldest child, Prince George, for the first few months of his life.
William‘s first royal engagement, aged eight, was in the Welsh capital Cardiff with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
St Thomas Church provides vital services to hundreds of people in the city such as a not-for-profit cafe and food, showers and toilets for the homeless.
Kate previously worked with baby banks and in 2020 brought together 19 British brands and retailers to donate more than 10,000 new items to more than 40 such banks across the country.
The last official visit the pair made to Wales was as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Cardiff Castle in June for rehearsals for the Platinum Jubilee concert.
It was Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte‘s first official outing in the country and the family were greeted by hoards of wellwishers.
William and Kate have pledged to make more regular visits to Wales as part of their roles as prince and princess and insiders say they are keen to put it on the map. They are already expected for another visit before Christmas.
Sources close to the couple have confirmed there are still no plans for an elaborate investiture ceremony similar to one hosted for the then Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.
A spokesperson for the prince and princess said: “Right now they are focused on deepening the trust and respect they have with the people of Wales over time.”
The move to bestow the couple Prince and Princess of Wales has caused some consternation with a petition calling for the British monarchy to end the use of the title garnering more than 35,000 signatures.
Meanwhile the new monarch and Queen Consort Camilla have returned to official duties marking the change in era with a new picture of them at the 75th anniversary of VE Day as royal mourning ends.
The royal couple have released a new portrait of them on the Royal Family Twitter page swathed in the royal Green Stewart tartan looking contemplative at the Balmoral War Memorial in 2020.