And There They Go—Prince William and Kate Middleton Leave California

Royal couple ended their three-day California tour Sunday after a whirlwind of appearances

By Brandi Fowler Jul 11, 2011 2:56 AMTags
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince WilliamJohn Shearer/WireImage

Living up to their rep as friends of the common folk, Prince William and Kate Middleton eschewed the polo fields and throngs of tuxedoed celebs on their final day of their SoCal sojourn, ending their whirlwind visit on a charitable note.

Following a weekend of glamorous events, the royal couple switched gears and headed to L.A.'s notorious Skid Row district to spend time with impoverished kids and then followed that up by filling care packages for children whose parents are serving overseas in the military.

Guess that whole Revolutionary War thing has been forgotten...

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John Stillwell - Pool/Getty Images

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge started their day by greeting well-wishers outside the British consul-general's home in Hancock Park, before heading over to Beverly Hills.

There, they attended an exclusive private reception for the launch of African wildlife conservatory charity US Patrons Circle of Tusk, and mingled with the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Disney bigwig Bob Iger).

Then it was off to downtown Los Angeles and a visit to Inner City Arts, an oasis in the middle of an area rife with homelessness that provides free art classes to neighborhood kids.

William and Kate were treated to an art class of their own, where they painted canvasses and made ceramics alongside children.

Finally, the duo had one more stop—a trip to the Service Nation: Mission Serve event at the Sony studios in Culver City.

It was there that William delivered a speech at what he dubbed the "most important" event of their North American tour.

"This is the last event on our tour of North America, but to my mind, it is one of the most important," William told the crowd. "This is because it is about men and women who—of their own freewill—choose to put their life on the line for their country. They are the front line of a remarkable relationship between the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, which has safe-guarded our freedoms for a century...as this is my last opportunity before we leave this afternoon, I would just say, on behalf of us both, how grateful we are to have been welcomed so warmly in the Golden State and the City of Angels. Thank you so much."

The event ostensibly was dedicated to helping veterans get jobs and also saw the royals help put together boxes of goodies with the children of servicemen and -women.

And with that, the royal twosome said their goodbyes and hopped aboard a London-bound British Airways flight at Los Angeles International Airport (yes, they flew commercial).

Toodles, Will and Kate. Come back soon!