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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Rebecca Russell

Reese Witherspoon was left 'in awe' of 'magnificent' Kate Middleton after joke

The Prince and Princess of Wales have undertaken a number of royal tours in the 11 years since they married.

Whether that is to Australia and New Zealand with Prince George, or to India and Pakistan in 2019 where they recreated Princess Diana's famous picture in front of the Taj Mahal.

It is surprising that the couple have only visited the US three times during their decade as senior royals, with the pair going to Boston for Prince William's second annual Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony at the end of last year.

Their first trip saw them meet several famous faces and one big name recalled her "magnificent" experiences with Kate in her autobiography.

Reese revealed she had been getting ready since 4am to meet the couple (Getty Images North America)

In her 2018 book 'Whiskey in a Teacup' actress Reese Witherspoon recalled the moment she received an invitation to meet the Prince and Princess of Wales in Los Angeles in 2011 and shared what it was really like to meet her.

She wrote: "I felt relatively immune from the obsession with the royals until a few years ago when I was invited to meet Kate Middleton. She had just married Prince William, and she was coming to Los Angeles for a fundraiser.

"I don't even know how I got so lucky as to receive the invitation. The scream that issued from my lips upon receiving it - you would have thought I was going to die."

Reese goes on to admit that she woke up at 4am the morning of the event in order to look her best to meet royalty.

Reese revealed she had been getting ready since 4am for the meeting (2011 Getty Images)
Reese described Kate as "magnificent" (2011 Getty Images)

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"I was up at 4am doing my hair. That's early, even for me. I was up, dressed and waiting by the door by 7am. Jim took pictures of me in the car. You can see rays of happiness shooting out of my face. I love Kate Middleton that much.

"And she did not disappoint! She was just lovely and warm, elegant and composed. She also told a joke, and I immediately fell under her spell.

Reese Witherspoon described her experience with royalty in her autobiography (2011 Getty Images)

"She's just as magnificent as she seems to be. She's a very compassionate, socially conscious, deeply caring person.

"It takes a very special person to decide to commit to that kind of life," she said.

"To choose to be under public scrutiny every moment. Now that she's in that position, her entire life is in service, forever. I am so in awe of that kind of dedication."

The newlyweds visited California after spending nine days in Canada (2011 Getty Images)

Following a successful nine-day tour of Canada, the Prince and Princess of Wales flew to California where they spent three days meeting well-wishers and Hollywood royalty.

After their arrival at LAX, the couple travelled to the Consul General’s residence in Los Angeles, where they stayed during their visit.

Among the 200 guests were David Beckham, Stephen Fry, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Prince William's distant cousin Lord Frederick Windsor.

The couple were then the guests of honour at the BAFTA Brits To Watch event, held at the Belasco Theatre in Downtown LA and were pictured alongside the likes of Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lopez.

Elsewhere during their three-day visit, they carried out an engagement at the Inner-City Arts School which offers children from deprived neighbourhoods in LA art classes and other forms of support.

While they were there, the couple were pictured chatting to students, making clay handprints and joking about one another's art skills.

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