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The Duchess of Cambridge has signalled that she will be taking a step back from public life, despite her hugely successful first foreign tour.
She has told royal aides that following the 11-day trip to Canada and the U.S. – her inaugural trip as a member of the Royal Family – she intends to spend the rest of the summer ‘just enjoying being a newly-wed’.
Kate and William arrived at Heathrow yesterday after flying from Los Angeles on a British Airways scheduled flight. They had received a rapturous reception in Canada and California, with Kate’s regal glamour stealing the show at a party for Hollywood A-listers on Saturday.
Chat's amazing: Kate talks to Erine Burgess and Diane Burgess at the Tusk Trust's US Patron's Circle launch
They will travel to Scotland with the rest of the Royal Family for the Queen’s annual holiday at Balmoral.
After a long summer break Kate and William will undertake a handful of engagements in the run up to Christmas – just one or two a month.
A source said: ‘The past few months have been a whirlwind and she just wants to take a step back and spend some time with her new husband.
‘She has even joked that people will probably be glad to see the back of her given the number of photographs that have been taken over the past couple of weeks.’
A St James’s Palace spokesman yesterday confirmed the couple’s plans and stressed that William, too, was keen for a break from public duties.
‘The Duke is going for his flying captaincy which he hopes to get in early 2012. He needs to keep up his flying hours and there are some exams to get through, a lot of work needs to done and he has to dedicate himself to that,’ they said.
Supermodel Lily Cole returned to Cambridge University today for her graduation ceremony - a week after scoring a double first class degree.
Lily paraded from King's College to the historic Senate House to receive her degree certificate as her proud mum and family watched and took photos.
She wore her black graduation gown as she walked in procession with around 100 students from the college, where she has studied for the last three years.
The 23-year-old wore white shirt and black tapered trousers with ballet flats, and added a slick of red lipstick to brighten up the outfit.
Students at Cambridge University are only allowed to wear black and white on Graduation Day.
If they are seen wearing any other colour at the degree ceremony, the college is fined in bottles of port.
Lily looked happy and relaxed as she left the ceremony clutching her certificate and joined her family and friends on the college lawns.
Brains and beauty: The 23-year-old star received a double first class degree
After the ceremony Lily and the other new graduates were joined by Fellows, college staff, friends and family for a buffet lunch party in the Provost's Garden.
The model has proved she has brains as well as beauty after gaining the highest possible award in History of Art.
She is among a small minority of students to get a double first class degree, which are only awarded to those who gain top marks in their first and final year exams.
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Here's a gossip column teaser. Where could you find Sam Cam rubbing shoulders with Posh Spice, Kate Middleton, Kate Moss and the Saudi Royal Family?
No, not the latest chi-chi restaurant, nor a new A-list nightclub. The celebrity magnet is none other than a designer discount outlet on the outskirts of Oxford that has quietly become one of the world’s most successful shopping destinations.
Perhaps it’s due to the recession, or maybe it’s down to the Duchess of Cambridge championing High Street and discount stores, but bagging a bargain seems to have become a source of pride even for the smartest set.
The result? For increasing numbers of trendsetters, it’s now a case of ‘Goodbye Bond Street, hello Bicester Village’.
The retail outlet was started 15 years ago by an American, Scott Malkin, who wanted to introduce us to the American concept of discount shopping.
Last year, it recorded sales of £1,400 per square foot — the highest of any shopping centre in the world, and nearly three times more than London’s Selfridges, which has sales of £500-£600 per square foot.
This year, to date, sales at Bicester Village are up by 26 per cent — an astonishing achievement at a time of economic downturn. So exactly what is its secret?
The uninitiated might assume that Bicester Village is a pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap warehouse; more Primark than Prada. But as you arrive on the immaculate, leather-seated shuttle bus from nearby Bicester railway station, it becomes clear this is far from the case.
It’s early on a rainy Monday morning, but the car park is filling up with Mercedes, Chelsea tractors and even the odd Ferrari. No need for any edicts banning hoodies here — though there are plenty of silk scarves in evidence.
The ‘village’ itself looks more like a film location than a Bluewater/Westfield shopping megalopolis. Immaculate New England-style clapboard houses, painted in subtle greys and whites, face each other across a broad, flagged street adorned with little topiary box trees and pretty benches.
It’s a little like the set of Desperate Housewives, but there’s nothing suburban about the signs above the shop doors: Dior, Prada, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Anya Hindmarch, Diane von Furstenberg...
There’s a White Company for duvet covers, a Le Creuset if you’ve run out of cast-iron pans, a Bonpoint for well-dressed babies and a Jack Wills for their teenage siblings. Even fashion-phobic men get an ultra-chic Bose electronics store, offering, for example, a home cinema system reduced by £780 to £1,820.
Altogether, there are 130 of the world’s most glamorous stores here — and not a traffic warden in sight, let alone a crisp packet. All BV staff, including the top dogs, are instructed to pick up any litter they see.
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