9 Jul 2011

Royal couple arrive in California

2:44 pm on 9 July 2011

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Los Angeles on Friday, on the US leg of their first official overseas trip as a married couple.

Prince William will play in a charity polo match on Saturday, with Kate due to present the winners' trophy.

Their engagements also include a BAFTA reception, and a visit to a community arts body working in the Skid Row area of the city.

The BBC reports the California trip follows a nine-day visit to Canada.

On Thursday, the duke and duchess attended the Calgary Stampede rodeo festival where they watched bucking bulls and were given traditional 10 gallon hats.

The couple arrived riding on top of a stagecoach through cheering crowds.

Before arriving in Calgary, the duke and duchess took a 24-hour break in a remote log cabin in the Canadian Rockies.

The BBC reports they made an unscheduled stop to visit Slave Lake, Alberta, where more than a third of the town was burned by a wildfire on 15 May, which led to the evacuation of 7000 residents.