David Beckham and some local folks welcome Will and Kate to L.A.

At a private reception for Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on Friday in Hancock Park, friend-of-Will David Beckham brought the glam while L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Gov. Jerry Brown, the president of USC and the chancellor of UCLA added a domestic touch to the event at the British consul-general's residence.

The newlywed royals, visiting Southern California for three days, mingled with 200 or so guests, a cross-section of the city's civic and business elite. Guests said the couple were personable, taking time to speak with them individually, L.A. Now's Rick Rojas reported.

Wait, did we say "domestic" when we meant to say "elite"? Silly Ministry of Gossip! Elsewhere, Victoria Beckham remained very, very pregnant.

Photos: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in L.A.

Kate and William arrived from Canada late Friday afternoon at LAX, where they were greeted by Villaraigosa, Brown and Nigel Sheinwald, Britain's ambassador to the United States.

The Duchess of Cambridge carried a bouquet of red, white and blue flowers presented by the governor's wife, Anne Gust Brown, before the couple headed to Beverly Hills for a business event supporting London's "Tech City."

Why so much American love for the royal couple?

Perhaps some "star-struck" teens from Orange County captured the cachet as they staked out the Beverly Hilton, awaiting the Cambridges' arrival: "I feel like their marriage is going to make it," said Shirley Lahr, 18. "She just seems so normal."

Kate, dear, "The Bachelorette" has nothing on you.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla
twitter.com/dzurillaville

Photo: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, California First Lady Anne Gust Brown and Gov. Jerry Brown greet Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, with flowers on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday. Credit: Kevork Djanesian / European Pressphoto Agency

Orlando Bloom, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on tap to attend royal polo match

Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will get a dose of Hollywood glamour in the Santa Barbara area on Saturday afternoon as celebrities including Orlando Bloom, Rosario Dawson and Zoe Saldana make the trek for a royal polo match.

Will is going to compete in a charity match at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Carpinteria in support of American Friends of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. 

While Kate takes in the so-called American Riviera for the first time, she'll also have a taste of her homeland in the shape of Brits Alex Pettyfer and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, according to Us Weekly.

Can't wait to see what Kate will wear to hand out prizes to the winners -- and no, that Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who belongs to the club definitely will not be on standby during the match, despite his assertion that he'd been asked by the club to be ready just in case.

Tickets to watch the sold-out event were priced at $400 and $4,000 each, according to one report, with a spot on one of the three competing teams reportedly going for a charitable donation of around $100,000.

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis will do the culinary honors.

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— Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wave goodbye to Canada from Calgary Airport on Friday. Credit: Chris Jackson / Getty Images.

William and Kate will bed down in Hancock Park during L.A. visit

No Beverly Hills Hotel bungalow for the royals: While visiting L.A., Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will bed down at the Hancock Park residence of the British consul-general.

Don't plan on zipping over there Friday or Saturday night to sneak a peek at the newlyweds, however. Police have secured "trespass-prohibited letters" from people who live in seven homes around the residence of the British consul-general, allowing interlopers to be arrested on the spot.

The 1928 home, purchased by the British government in 1957, was designed by Southern California architect Wallace Neff and has been renovated over the years, with recent and future upgrades designed by Richard Chang Architects.

See more shots of the house on the RCA website -- with a hat tip to Curbed L.A.

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Photo: Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will stay at the British consul-general's Hancock Park residence, photographed on Thursday. Photo credit: Charley Gallay / Getty Images.

Will and Kate tip a hat to Canada, launch Calgary Stampede

Will and Kate kept it down home on their final day in Canada, riding in the 99th annual Calgary Stampede parade Friday morning and kicking off the 10-day event with a ceremonial sounding of the klaxon -- the horn traditionally used to start the chuck-wagon races.

Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, also attended a bull-riding exhibition Thursday wearing white cowboy hats that had been presented to them by Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi on their arrival earlier in the day. The couple had accepted the hats at the time but had not tried them on, causing a micro-scandal in the micro-blogging world as they appeared to snub a local tradition. A royal spokesman said they were honored and looking forward to donning the headgear.

"Well, this is different," the prince said with a laugh as he touched the tip of his cowboy hat at a reception later. "We have been hugely struck by the diversity of this beautiful country: from Ottawa to Quebec, from Prince Edward Island to the Northwest Territories, and now the excitement of Calgary -- and what about these fantastic white hats."

Getting a public peek at the royals isn't easy -- think state visit, not red carpet -- but hundreds of thousands of people managed just that as the duke and duchess rode nearly three miles in the parade Friday.

Also, 3,100 people who scored free wristbands will be able to see their departure ceremony at Calgary Rotary Challenger Park. It won't be a simple wave goodbye: This ceremony comes with full military honors, including an inspection of the honor guard by William and a 21-gun salute.

"I have to say, we haven't seen a love-in like that since the first visit of the Beatles!" Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said after William's final remarks in the country Friday. "Indeed, everywhere you went, you left a trail of utterly charmed Canadians in your wake."

The royals are headed next for Los Angeles -- watch below as the Ministry's Matt Donnelly gives an overview of what to expect.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Prince William tips his hat to Calgary during his speech at the Calgary Stampede on his and Catherine's final day in Canada. Credit: Todd Korol / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images

Prince William and Kate to meet Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez and more at BAFTA bash

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

Canada has given Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, among the finest that nation has to offer. So what is Hollywood going to hand over?

Movie stars, natch, with BAFTA's "Brits to Watch" event set deliver some of the best in the business to greet the newlywed royals Saturday at the Belasco in downtown L.A. William was named president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in February 2010.

Jennifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony, Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks and Jack Black are rumored to have sent in RSVPs.

As have Kristen Chenoweth, Dana Delany, Ginnifer Goodwin and "Dancing With the Stars" pro Derek Hough, according to E! Online.

Will and Kate will travel from Santa Barbara's polo grounds on Saturday to downtown L.A.'s Belasco Theater for the event, which is to highlight emerging British talent in film. 

[For the record, 5:45 p.m. July 7: This post originally said the BAFTA event would be in Culver City; it will be held in downtown L.A., with the royals heading to Culver City on Sunday to participate in a hiring fair and service project for military veterans and their families.]

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Photo: Prince William and Catherine, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, wear the sweaters of the Canadian Rangers after being made honorary members on Tuesday near Blatchford Lake. Credit: Arthur Edwards / Getty Images

William and Kate arrive in Canada to a warm welcome

The duke and duchess of Cambridge have landed! William and Catherine, that is, have arrived in Canada, beginning their much-hyped North American tour with welcome remarks at Ottawa's Rideau Hall.

"Catherine and I are so delighted to be here in Canada. Instilled in us by our parents and grandparents, who love this country, we have been looking forward to this moment for a very long time," William told the throng of Canadians who came for a glimpse of the newlyweds.

"Before we were married," he added, "we had a longing to come here together."

The duchess, in a navy-and-cream lace number, got a rock-star reception.

"We want Kate!" crowds chanted as the bride greeted fans on the opposite side of metal barriers, accepting roses and bending gracefully to meet a few lucky kids. While Kate's lovely voice was barely heard in her single days -- she participated in only one post-engagement interview, then recited her vows before a global audience in April -- she piped up after Will spoke.

"Thank you so much. We are so delighted to be here," she said.

We'll take it! Keep checking back for all the details on the royal tour -- which will eventually stop right here in the Ministry's hometown.

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Photo: Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at a welcome reception in Ottawa on a tour of Canada. Credit: Reuters

 

Newsweek's 'Diana at 50' cover: Shocking, brilliant or just plain cheap? [Poll]

Had she lived, Princess Diana would have celebrated her 50th birthday this coming Friday. Ever ponder how things might have turned out for the people's princess had that fatal 1997 car crash never happened? Newsweek's Tina Brown has ever-so-kindly tried her hand at taking some of the guesswork out of that equation. 

The rather jarring cover features an imaginary present-day Diana strolling with the daughter-in-law she never knew: An age-projected photo illustration of Di is digitally superimposed at the side of the former Kate Middleton, the commoner who married Prince William, emerging from Westminster Abbey in April as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

While many fans were imagining the high glamour and higher emotion Diana's presence would've brought to the royal wedding, the cover and accompanying story takes it bigger, imagining one version of where she would be today.

"Gliding sleekly into her 40s, her romantic taste would have moved to men of power over boys of play," she writes, saying Diana's entire life would be about philanthropy and dizzying power circles, in addition to sons William and Prince Harry.

Daily Beast founder and Diana expert Brown has a rather dramatic vision of a modern Di, tweeting at the Dalai Lama and owning a deliriously designed Facebook page (featuring another age projection of Diana clutching an iPhone).

Imaginary Diana has a lofty apartment in New York, a strange but comforting friendship with ex-husband Charles, Prince of Wales, and naturally a front-row next to Victoria Beckham at Fashion Week.

Possible, yes — but it is plausible? And is the cover all sorts of right, or all sorts of wrong? Let us know.

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Photo: On its "Diana at 50" cover, Newsweek has digitally engineered a photo illustration of an age-projected Princess Diana strolling with the former Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the daughter-in-law Di never met. Credit: Newsweek.

William and Kate step out to a glamorous London fundraiser

William and Catherine, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, seem to be taking quite nicely to married life -- and though Kate may fetch her own groceries, she also cleans up well, as evidenced by a glamorous showing with her husband on Thursday night.

Attending the Absolute Return for Kids Gala, the former Kate Middleton stunned in a pale pink Jenny Packham number. The gala, a fundraiser for health and education for kids worldwide, attracted celebs including Elton John's partner David Furnish and actress Elizabeth Hurley.

The newlyweds arrived in a blue Jaguar and beamed on purple-colored carpet, according to People.

"We need to get young philanthropists involved with us," charity founder Arpad Busson said of the two. "They could not have been a better choice."

The event took place on a party site constructed at London's Perks Field, proximate to the couple's future city home: a humble cottage called Kensington Palace. 

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Photos: William and Catherine, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, attend the 10th annual ARK Gala. Credits:  Toby Melville / Reuters

Royal couple Kate and William reveal U.S. plans -- but how should one address them?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge show no signs of slowing in popularity since their April wedding, and a few new details are available on the exploits of hot young royals Kate and William.

For starters, a new Mario Testino photograph is in the mix, landing on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. The new issue claims that William is so popular in his homeland at the moment -- so utterly relatable -- that he's being referred to as the "Dude of Cambridge." 

Though his subjects may have fun with Will's official title, the cover story reveals something important about the way his bride Kate (a.k.a. Catherine) is to be addressed: The report says the late Diana Spencer's son still wishes to be called Prince William. This would make his bride Princess Catherine. 

Many royal enthusiasts were disappointed that the pair were given the titles of Duke and Duchess on their wedding day, but it looks as though Kate is a princess bride after all -- and one who'd better pack her sunscreen, as she'll make her first U.S. visit  with her husband in July. 

After an official visit to Canada, the pair will arrive in California on July 8. But don't expect any Robertson Boulevard shopping stints with Victoria Beckham.

"The couple view this as a working visit, not as an opportunity for them to meet celebrities," a palace source told People magazine, adding that they will focus on the promotion of Britain through "the prism of their own interests."

A full American itinerary is to be released in June.

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Photo: Prince William and Princess Catherine, as he would have us call them, on Vanity Fair's cover. Credit: Mario Testino

Mario Testino talks photographing royal couple Kate and William

Famous fashion photographer Mario Testino is breaking his silence on a recent -- and extremely high-profile -- gig shooting royal couple Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the couple had their official engagement portraits taken by Testino at Buckingham Palace. 

The images published worldwide show a glowing Kate and Wills in an official portrait and a more intimate hug shot. Though the photos are serene, the shoot was quite hectic, Testino told People magazine.

"Everything is compacted into a very short time because we have to produce these pictures. It's more like me screaming and trying to get everything to go," Testino said in a recent interview.

"Well, not screaming, but getting in a fluster, I guess you say."

We can't imagine our Kate and Wills getting in a tizzy over a photo shoot, but it shouldn't suggest they're not excited about each other.

"They are a young couple in love," Testino surmised. 

He also indicated Kate helped doing her own makeup for the famous photos. Testino has a long-respected fashion and editorial portfolio; he was a favorite of William's late mother, Princess Diana. 

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Photo: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in their official engagement photos. Credit: Mario Testino