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Five Things We Learned From Prince William & Kate Middleton's California Adventure

After the whirlwind SoCal stay of Prince William and Kate Middleton came to a close last night, all we could say was, whew!
/ Source: E!online

After the whirlwind SoCal stay of Prince William and Kate Middleton came to a close last night, all we could say was, whew!

Miraculously, a long weekend of grip-and-grin events didn't put a crimp into the elegant style of these endlessly genial newlyweds. They stumped for worthy causes, hobnobbed with the swells, embraced the sporting life, mixed with Hollywood hotshots and the hoi polloi --all while looking fantastic. Yes, we envy them.

OK, so it was a cornucopia of rockin' royal occasions, but which were the five best bits?

PHOTOS: Fashion Spotlight: Kate Middleton

1. Kate Doesn't Need a Fascinator to Fascinate: Crazy hats are a crutch of the lesser royals ( lookin' at you, Beatrice ). And Duchess Catherine showed she knows enough to let her hairdo do the work for her as she stepped off the helicopter looking casually windblown in the best possible way. Plus, she knows so many ways to work it. Kate = great!

2. Loving Polo...It's Genetic! Hypercompetive Princes Wills and Harry had a polo duel this weekend, even though Harry was back in Jolly Olde England and William was horsing around for a good cause out in Santa Barbara. Wills joked that he wouldn't be coming back if his side didn't win. But fortunately for us, William scored a flurry of four fast goals in the second game of the match and lead his team to victory. And, as we reported from Santa Barbara, this match was waaaay more fun than that polo scene in Pretty Woman.

3. A-List Pecking Order FYI, a Prince Trumps a Jonas Brother: Out at the Santa Barbara polo event, Joe Jonas got forced off the red carpet by security, bum-rushed into the nearby pastureland like he was just a regular guy. And perhaps, compared to the projected future king of England, he just might be. Welcome to our world, Joe.

4. Four Score: We loved the way Mentalist star Owain Yeoman joked on the BAFTA Brits to Watch gala red carpet about E! Online ranking him the royal newlyweds' fourth-best H'wood pal--when he hadn't even met them! So we made him No. 4 on this list, too. Yeoman was just one of the many TV and movie stars who turned out at the event to honor Wills &Kate (check out the rest of the stars in our BAFTA bash gallery ). But he was classic, classy and cute. If he wasn't the fourth-best pal of the royals before, he certainly should be by now.

5. Keeping Pomp and Circumstance in Perspective: The royal newlyweds proved that they can shine in star studded public events, but more importantly they showed some admirable substance beneath their gleaming personas with a series of events promoting worhy causes--from conservation to homelessnes to national service to at-risk youth. With values like those and the will (and Will) to promote them, these two are welcome back in our little town any day.

PHOTOS: Wills &Kate Take California

MORE PHOTOS! BAFTA Brits to Watch red carpet gala