Kate Middleton Kicks Off Olympic Countdown While Prince William...Compares Himself to a Pigeon?!

Royal couple joins forces for Our Greatest Team Rises, a gala celebration in London honoring the competitors of Team GB

By Gina Serpe May 11, 2012 8:45 PMTags
Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, Prince WilliamMichael Dunlea/Startraksphoto.com

The games are afoot!

There are only 77 days until the London 2012 Olympics begin (what? You're not counting?), and Prince William and Kate Middleton did their level best to hurry the ticking clock, turning up in the capital city Friday to celebrate the official kickoff to the sporting event with fellow celebs and a hefty portion of Team GB.

The royals got all dolled up in their patriotic finest for the event, rather immodestly dubbed Our Greatest Team Rises. Hey, there's no room for humility when there are gold medals to be won.

Will and Kate, both Olympic and Paralympic ambassadors along with Prince Harry, incidentally, arrived at the dinner gala celebration, put on by the British Olympic Association.

As always, the 30-year-old duchess didn't disappoint, donning a teal floor-length Jenny Packham gown with a lace- and Swarovski crystal-embellished bodice to the event, which also serves as a fundraiser for Great Britain's competing teams. Ever the frugal royal, she also put back on the Jimmy Choo heels she wore out to the Thirty Club dinner event she and the duke attended earlier this week.

All told, 67 Olympic athletes (and 3,000 other assorted guests) joined Kate and the speech-giving Will at the bash. And let's just say, what he lacks in athletic prowess, he more than makes up for with self-deprecating charm.

"Naturally, I was asked to compete for Team GB in every sport, but sadly, Lord Coe said there were London pigeons with more athletic prowess than me," he joked. "These Games remind us of the power of the human spirit and human endeavor. You, our Olympians and Paralympians, will inspire people up and down this country, and far beyond its borders.

"For the athletes of Our Greatest Team, these Games mark the pinnacle of your sporting careers. I can only imagine it...competing at home, in front of your countrymen and women, with the eyes of the entire world upon you. A dream come true."

Olympic fever is starting to catch. Let the games begin already!