Press rushes to gush over Kate's debut - Reuters Blogs (blog)

Royal reporters fell over themselves to heap praise on queen-to-be Kate Middleton in today's press, dusting off the superlatives to describe the 29-year-old's first official appearance alongside Prince William.

In a carefully choreographed set of visits — three in two days — the royal couple-to-be were presented to the press and public, and despite the modest scale of Thursday's debut — they were on the Welsh island of Anglesey to launch a lifeboat – you would be forgiven for thinking that something truly historic had happened, judging by the column-inch-count.

Setting the tone was the deeply traditional Daily Mail, a natural ally to the monarchy.

"With a dazzling smile … she launched herself on the royal stage with the kind of confidence few might have expected from someone so new to public duty," wrote Paul Harris.

"Kate's a Corker" was the somewhat racier version from the Daily Mirror tabloid. The Times chimed in with "Cutting her coat to her cloth, how Kate proved a natural at winning hearts".

No detail is too small. Middleton reportedly recycled a coat she had previously worn, making it a few inches shorter, in a move praised for taking into account austere economic times.

And comparisons to William's late mother Diana are inevitably creeping into journalists' copy.

Back to the Mail's Harris: "Those of us who think they might have seen all this before found ourselves making inevitable comparisons with Princess Diana. She, too, brought fresh air to stuffy royal occasions."

How long this kind of coverage lasts remains to be seen. Some suspect the press is happy to give the young couple a period of grace as they settle into life in the limelight. But once the wedding is out of the way on April 29, relations could change.