Rabu, 10 Desember 2014

2014 in St. Andrews 600th Anniversary Dinner

Wednesday, Dec 10th 2014, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a glitzy gala dinner to raise money for their alma mater: St Andrews University in Scotland.

Prince William and his wife Kate - who both earned degrees at the university - were the guests of honour at the lavish $10,000-a-head 600th anniversary event at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the couple's final engagement of their three-day visit to America.

Donning a midnight blue Jenny Packham evening gown and with her hair swept up in an elegant chignon, the pregnant Duchess beamed as she was met on the museum's steps by an honor guard of fellow St Andrews alumni dressed in the university's traditional red gowns and officials wearing kilts. Kate has worn the stunning dress twice before in public. But with her handsome dinner suited-husband at her side, the effect was still suitably regal and the most formal outfit she has sported during their overseas trip. She teamed the gown with fashionable black heels, her stunning engagement ring and long diamond and emerald earrings, which were a private gift.

Speech: William is pictured speaking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the St Andrews 600th anniversary dinner in New York.

And during tonight's dinner, William told guests that the university still has a special place in his and his wife's hearts, saying: 'I don't need to tell you how much St Andrews means to me and Catherine.' He added: 'By joining us here this evening you are supporting a remarkable independent institution.'

(The Duke and Duchess met in St. Andrews as students. Although they were initially just friends, their relationship quickly blossomed into an on-again, off-again romance on campus. It later developed into a full blown love affair that saw them wed at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011.)

'Fortunately for Catherine and me we ended up married. But for those of you who are parents of undergraduates right now, I give you one tip: ask your son or daughter over the holidays if they know what Ma Bells is. If they answer yes, perhaps remove their wine glasses out of reach.' (Ma Bells is a pub frequented by many St Andrew's undergraduates, including William and Kate.)

In a note in the program, he added the personal message: 'For Catherine and me, it will always be a very special place and we have the warmest of memories of our time as undergraduates and the friends we made there.'

Dinner: This shot shows the 450 guests seated at the event, which supports scholarships and bursaries for disadvantaged students

The couple were then escorted to a reception in the museum's Velez Blanco patio, where they mingled with the other 450 guests - who had paid between $2,500 and $10,000 to attend the dinner - surrounded by 16th century marble statues brought over wholesale from a castle in Spain.

They later dined in the Temple of Dendur, a vast room decorated with statues of Egyptian gods that was built specifically to house an Egyptian temple built just before the birth of Christ. The sandstone temple was given to the U.S. in its entirety in 1965.

The event, which will close tonight with a charity auction, aims to fund scholarships and bursaries for St Andrews students from under-privileged communities, as well as new sports and media facilities at the university.

Departure: The Duchess of Cambridge is seen holding a hand protectively over her bump as she and her husband leave the dinner. Look of love: The royal couple - who are expecting their second child in April next year - walk hand-in-hand down the museum's steps.