The British charm offensive across Europe has begun!
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge landed Monday in Warsaw, Poland, with their young children, George and Charlotte, in tow as part of a five-day goodwill visit through Poland and Germany. Their trip is part of a diplomatic gesture by the United Kingdom as the nation extricates itself from the European Union as a result from last year’s Brexit vote.
On Monday, the initial focus was not on politics but on the royal arrival, as Prince William and his wife deplaned and gave the world its latest much-anticipated look at Prince George and his little sister, Princess Charlotte.
George, who turns 4 on Saturday, held tightly to his father’s hand as they stepped off a private charter plane and met a line of dignitaries in a light sprinkle of rain.
Princess Charlotte was carried off the plane in the arms of her mother.
The duke and duchess then headed off to meet, sans children, with Polish President Andrzej Duda and the first lady at the presidential palace.
Prince William and Duchess Kate will spend two days in Poland touring the country's historical sites, including the Stutthof Concentration Camp, where more than 65,000 people died during World War II. They also will pay a visit to Gdansk to see the shipyards and speak with actors at the Shakespeare Theater.
The royal family will then head to Germany, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, visit Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, and stroll through a traditional beer garden in Heidelberg. They also will pay their respects at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial.
William and Kate's trip is being taken at the request of their Foreign and Commonwealth Office as part of a diplomacy tour.
The trip will be the second they have taken abroad with both of their children. The young royals charmed the world last year when their family paid a week-long visit to Canada last September. The visit provided the biggest opportunity to date to see the children, who played and showed off glimpses of their personality during a garden party for military families.
George also flew overseas with his parents a third time, when he was about 9 months old and a single child. He traveled with parents on a 2014 tour through Australia and New Zealand.