Royal couple visit NI in run-up to April wedding

Smiling royal bride-to-be Kate Middleton tossed a pancake in the centre of Belfast on Tuesday.

She flipped it up in the air outside City Hall as several people cheered and wished her well for her wedding day next month.

Miss Middleton, 29, was handed a frying pan by Prince William and told to “have a go” in front of children fundraising on Shrove Tuesday.

It is the couple’s first visit to Northern Ireland.

There was a heavy security presence but, with Prince William close by, Miss Middleton joined children tossing pancakes and stopped for a chat with women in the grounds of City Hall.

Armed police officers patrolled the streets and kept watch from nearby rooftops, but the opening engagement of the couple’s one-day visit passed without incident.

Security considerations meant there was no pre-visit announcement by Buckingham Palace and the Northern Ireland Office.

Miss Middleton clearly revelled in the attention of the crowd outside City Hall gates who strained to catch a glimpse – as well as the 100 people who were allowed inside to line up on the edge of the lawns in the hope of shaking the couple’s hands.