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Royals In Los Angeles

Posted by: Linda Carbonell on July 9, 2011.

07-09-2011 by Linda S. Carbonell

Duke and Duchess landing at LAX

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon for a visit that mixes business and Hollywood. Though requests had been made by government officials for the paparazzi to keep their distance and treat the royal visitors with respect, local television stations sent crews for live streaming video of their arrival, and a helicopter followed their motorcade from the airport.

They were greeted at the airport by Governor Jerry Brown and quickly left for Beverly Hills to attend a meeting with British and American entrepreneurs to discuss investment in the U.K.’s tech and media industries. This is the kind of event that Prince Andrew usually attends, and may be a preview of Prince William’s expanded role in “The Firm.” Around 300 people were in attendance at the meeting and greeted the couple with a standing ovation. They sat and waited for the executives to finish their presentations before Prince William made some brief remarks.

They visited an exhibition room, tried out some new social media and video equipment and talked with tech execs. William thanked the organizers, saying, “That was fantastic. I really enjoyed it.” Right now, the Brits might be willing to sell half the country if someone could devise a completely hack-proof phone. The royals were among the first victims, two decades ago, and the revelations of this past week about the hackings done by Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World newspaper, have deeply shaken Brit’s belief in the security of their mobiles.

After the reception, they went to the home of the British Consul-General, Dame Barbara Hay, for a dinner and reception. They stayed the night in Dame Hay’s home.

Today, Prince William will participate in a charity polo match in Santa Barbara, and they will attend a black tie charity dinner organized by BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television. Prince William is the royal president of the organization. Hundreds of British organizations of all kinds have a royal as “president” or “sponsor.” Except for the BAFTA event, their schedule this weekend does not include a lot of Hollywood hobnobbing, but focuses on charity and business.