William and Kate wow California crowds on polo field, mingle with Hollywood's royalty

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Actress Blake Lively poses at the inaugural BAFTA Brits to Watch 2011 event at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, Saturday, July 9, 2011. Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended the event as part of their three-day visit to California. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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   • The royal wow

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Prince William played well enough in a charity polo match Saturday to earn public kisses from his wife and then mingled with a dazzling array of Hollywood royalty eager to meet the newlyweds on their visit to Southern California.

At the midpoint of their tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wowed a crowd at a sun-splashed polo field and then swung to the glamour of a black-tie evening event that drew Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, Blake Lively and Jennifer Lopez, among many others.

The soiree at the restored 1920s-era Belasco Theatre in downtown Los Angeles was organized by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, of which William is president, to promote up-and-coming British talent in the industry.

William's wife, the former Kate Middleton, wore a flowing lilac dress with white waistband by Alexander McQueen. Fans cheered as they strode a red carpet and the couple responded by walking over and shaking a few hands.

"Before I start, I'd just like to thank Colin Firth for my opening line: I have a voice," William quipped in brief remarks to the star-studded audience, referring to Firth's role as King George VI in the acclaimed film "The King's Speech."

William also urged Hollywood to embrace the new wave of British talent.

"Please give them the opportunities you have always extended to some of the brightest and best that Britain has to offer," he said. "When American and British creative talent gets together, magic happens."

The guests included executives of major studios and entertainment companies along with such luminaries as James Gandolfini, Don Cheadle, Dana Delaney, Jack Black and Kristin Chenoweth.

The day's royal events began up the coast at Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County, where William scored four goals as his team went on to win the overall polo match. The crowd at the sun-splashed Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club rushed onto the field despite an announcer's pleas for them to return their seats, and finally security used a line of rope to push them back.

After stragglers were pushed back and decorum was restored, William's wife, the former Kate Middleton, presented each competitor a blue Tiffany & Co. box with a white ribbon, and a big silver trophy to her husband's team.

The last player to the podium was William. When the crowd yelled, "Kiss!," she obliged and gave him a slight embrace and a kiss on each cheek.

The return of the couple to the field restored the atmosphere. After the crowd's rush, a fight nearly erupted when a photographer was pushed over a barrier by a spectator struggling to catch a glimpse of the royals and landed hard on his camera. Security escorted away the spectator, but some in the crowd booed as a few photographers were allowed closer to the podium.

The couple arrived by helicopter in Carpinteria, joining hundreds of well-heeled royal watchers who'd travelled long distances — and paid big sums — to see them.

"My father, the Prince of Wales, and my brother, Harry, were as green as that grass outside when I told them I'd be here today," William told a reception where guests sipped champagne and whiskey. "Catherine and I have had a busy few days — so the prospect of being able to let loose this afternoon is wonderful for me."

William wore a white shirt and trousers with a blue blazer while his wife sported a silver and marble-grey hand-painted silk dress by British designer Jenny Packham.

The cheap seats cost $400, while anyone paying $4,000 for a VIP ticket got a chance to hobnob with William and his bride.

Carolyn Sesvold flew in from Chicago to attend the match, buying a brown-and-white polka-dotted dress, hat and gloves inspired by the outfit Julia Roberts wore to the polo match in the movie "Pretty Woman."

Sesvold, a royals fan, also came to watch a family friend who paid about $50,000 to play against William in the polo game. Those playing on the same team as the duke paid twice that, she said.

Cheryl Reyes, who works in an office in Orange County, bought her $400 ticket as soon as she heard the royal couple would be coming to Santa Barbara. Standing across the field nibbling on a sandwich and drinking a flute of juice, she worried about whether she'd be able to see the duchess.

"I wanted to see Princess Catherine," she said. "There's just something magical about being a commoner and ending with a prince. She's the one I want to see."

Both Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry, regularly play polo during the summer months. Their love for the sport comes from their father, Prince Charles, who played polo for 40 years before stopping in 2005. Prince Charles broke his right arm during a fall from his horse during a 1990 match, among several polo-related injuries.

Actress Rosario Dawson complimented Kate's fashion sense, calling her style effortless and elegant.

"I think Catherine seems very in her body," Dawson said. "She seems very clear about who she is. She doesn't dress too old, she doesn't dress too young."

The duke and duchess arrived in California on Friday after a nine-day trip to Canada, their first foreign excursion since getting married in April.

Actor Billy Zane said he was pleased that William and Kate visited Southern California after their wedding. "It's nice to be able to host them here," he said. "I'm thrilled they showed up so soon."

William and Kate's arrival in California has been a lower-key affair compared to the largely rapturous welcomes they received as they crisscrossed Canada, though small crowds of royal watchers waving British and American flags congregated outside the British consul general's home in Hancock Park and elsewhere.

On Sunday, the royal couple will watch a dance at a non-profit academy in the gritty Skid Row area of downtown then attend a job fair for U.S. servicemen and women transitioning to civilian life.

"People just want a glimpse of the duke and duchess," said Los Angeles resident Christian Kang. "There's so much compassion in both of them. I know they're going to Skid Row, and I think that's very good to see from someone in his position."

Though Prince William has been to America before, it is Kate's first trip to the U.S. William's late mother, Princess Diana, who would have turned 50 this month, charmed Americans when she visited in the 1980s.

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Schwartz reported from Carpinteria, Calif.; AP writers Thomas Watkins and John Antczak contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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Follow Thomas Watkins at http://www.twitter.com/thomaswatkins