Kate Middleton’s TOPSHOP dress she wore today at the Warner Bros film studios quickly became a sellout.
The dress was available to buy from TOPSHOP’s online store this morning, but within an hour of Kate Middleton stepping out in the polka dot garment it was out of stock.
Bargain hunting fashionistas rushed to buy the £38 ($59) dress that fits the Duchess of Cambridge even though she’s currently six months pregnant.
Kate Middleton, 31, teamed the black and white dress with a black Ralph Lauren jacket as she toured the Warner Bros film studios with Princes William and Harry.
Kate Middleton’s TOPSHOP dress she wore today at the Warner Bros film studios quickly became a sellout
She has long been a fan of TOPSHOP and has been seen in clothes from the British brand on numerous previous occasions.
Just last month, Kate Middleton wore a £46 ($72) black shift dress from the store with a white Peter Pan collar as she attended the headquarters of Child Bereavement UK with Prince William.
Kate Middleton, who is due to give birth in July, was spotted browsing the rails of one of the store’s London branches at the beginning of March.
On that occasion, the duchess was rumored to have bought a short floral print dress called “Deirdre” that she has yet to be seen wearing in public.
Today isn’t the first time Kate Middleton has caused a spike in sales at TOPSHOP. Back in 2007, long before she was the Duchess, she was still making her mark as a style icon.
When she was pictured out in a black and white patterned tunic from the store it flew off the shelves.
Kate Middleton’s sister, Pippa, is well-known for sharing her sense of style and she’s also regularly seen in TOPSHOP garments. While another high profile fan of the brand is Andy Murray’s girlfriend Kim Sears.
But TOPSHOP isn’t the only High Street store Kate Middleton champions. She also regularly wears clothes from Reiss, LK Bennett and Zara.
Kate Middleton and Princes William and Harry had a wizard Harry Potter experience today as they attended the inauguration of the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, UK.
The highlights of their visit include a trip to the Great Hall, a special effects demonstration on Diagon Alley and even a wand lesson in The Gryffindor Common Room.
Kate Middleton, who is due to give birth in July, wore a short £38 ($59) polka dot dress by TOPSHOP and black suede heels with a black Ralph Lauren jacket pushed up at the sleeves.
The trio have brought with them to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, 500 guests, both children and adults, associated with some of the charities they support.
The royal party were first shown props and costumes from the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises. Princes William and Harry were clearly taken with a camouflaged Batmobile known as the Tumbler.
Prince William turned to his brother and whispered: “We should borrow that for the weekend.” He then climbed inside and turned on the engine, revving it to within an inch of its life.
When Prince William finally emerged from the Batmobile after a long while he said: “I’m a very happy man” but when he spotted his wife the royal apologized saying: “Sorry, sorry.”
Clearly a fan, the future king then couldn’t resist climbing on board the Bat Bike and posing for the cameras as Harry looked on enviously. Both brothers own their own superbikes – but clearly nothing on this level.
The three royals also spent time examining Batman’s heavy rubber armor.
“Is this really what the actor wore, how heavy is it?” Prince William asked.
He was astonished to discover it took 25 minutes for actor Christian Bale to put on.
Kate Middleton joined Princes William and Harry for a wizard day out at the Harry Potter film studios
The royals headed over to a “green screen” where draftsman Ed Symon was seated on another model of the Batpod motorbike sited on top of a “six axis motion base”. It was originally built for the broomstick flying in Harry Potter movies.
John Richardson special effects supervisor on the movies, said: “We’ve had everyone on it from Harry Potter to Voldemort.”
There, Prince William took to the controls of the simulator making the Batpod move up and around as if it was flying.
The visit will culminate with them hosting a most unusual meeting for their Charities Forum in the Great Hall, one of the original sets from the Harry Potter film series.
The Charities Forum is a collection of charities, of which The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are Patrons.
Started in 2006, it provides a platform for collaborative activity between the 35 participating charities and organizations who meet twice a year to discuss ideas and ways to support each other.
During the first part of today’s Studio tour, Kate Middleton and Princes William and Harry also met some of the creative teams from recent Warner Bros. Productions and were given an insight into the film making process as well as being shown some of the props and costumes from those films.
Warner Bros.’ £100 million ($160 million) facility, the first of its kind to be built in the UK in 70 years, accounts for a third of the dedicated major feature film production stage space in the UK.
It is the only film studio in the country to be owned and operated by a major Hollywood studio.
Formerly the production home of all eight Harry Potter films, Goldeneye, Star Wars Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace and Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, the state-of-the-art studios now encompass nine sound stages, a 100 acre back-lot and one of the largest underwater filming tanks in Europe. It is available to all kinds of productions, not just Warner Bros., from commercials to music videos, TV shows to feature films.
The first production to shoot there since the redevelopment was All You Need Is Kill, directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter takes guests behind the scenes of the Harry Potter films and showcases the incredible British talent, creativity and artistry that went into bringing the series to life.
[youtube lK4XAToyk7M]
[youtube JU4I_w0QEGw]
The Olympic torch has been welcomed to Buckingham Palace by members of the royal family, including Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge.
Large crowds gathered across London to see the flame on the penultimate day of its journey around the British Isles.
The torch relay also passed through Downing Street, where it was greeted by Prime Minister David Cameron.
David Cameron earlier said the London Games would show the world “beyond doubt that Britain can deliver”.
The flame ended the day in Hyde Park where the final torchbearer lit a cauldron in front of 60,000 people who have gathered for a celebratory concert.
London Mayor Boris Johnson wished the crowds a “wonderful” Olympics, and thanked them for their support.
“Are we ready? Yes we are,” Boris Johnson said, in a rallying cry to the audience.
The Olympic torch has been welcomed to Buckingham Palace by members of the royal family, including Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s men’s football team is taking on Senegal at Manchester’s Old Trafford ground.
On Friday, the Olympics will be officially opened by the Queen and the torch’s journey will come to an end during the opening ceremony.
A unanimous decision has been made over who will light the Olympic Stadium’s cauldron, LOCOG said, but it will be kept secret until the ceremony.
Earlier, David Cameron told reporters during a news conference at the Olympic Park: “This is a great moment for us. Let’s seize it.”
And he said security was his main concern ahead of the Games – an area he said he takes “personal responsibility for”.
David Cameron described a blunder in which North Korean footballers’ images were shown next to the South Korean flag as an “honest mistake”.
The prime minister called the eve of the Games “a truly momentous day for our country”.
“Seven years of waiting, planning, building, dreaming, are almost over – tomorrow, the curtain comes up, the spectators arrive, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 can officially begin.”
David Cameron also met the Republican candidate for the US presidency, Mitt Romney, during his campaigning and fundraising visit to London.
Mitt Romney had earlier expressed concerns about “disconcerting” signs of a lack of readiness for the Games.
“The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials – that obviously is not something which is encouraging,” Mitt Romney told a US television station.
It is “hard to know just how well it will turn out”, said Mitt Romney, who managed the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.
David Cameron responded by saying: “Of course, this is a time of some economic difficulty for the UK. Everybody knows that.
“But look at what we’re capable of achieving as a nation, even at a difficult economic time.”
Mitt Romney, who also met Labour leader Ed Miliband, later said outside Number 10: “I expect the Games to be highly successful.”
In other developments:
• Long queues outside St James’s Park in Newcastle meant some football fans missed the start of Mexico v South Korea
• The PM met David Beckham at Downing Street to discuss how to tackle world hunger. It came ahead of a “hunger summit” on the final day of the Games, Sunday 12 August
• A planned strike by East Midlands Trains (EMT) during the Games was called off after a pensions dispute was settled
• LOCOG apologized after an official football programme listed Welsh footballer Joe Allen as English. It said the error would be corrected for Team GB’s next match
• A global investment conference in London kicked off a series of business summits intended to showcase the UK and attract investment during the Games
• A new record for arrivals at Heathrow is expected to be set on Thursday, with up to 125,000 incoming passengers
[youtube hnRFedVoggg]
