Best Possible Outcome

I'm tired. I'm sweaty. I'm sunburned. I'm hungry, thirsty, and I've been shat on by a pigeon (So has Richard Palmer, who was standing right next to me when William and Kate were arriving. Same pigeon).

But none of that matters. Because both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge waved at me. And I have never been happier.

Despite all my worrying and uncertainty yesterday, today had the best possible outcome. I saw William and Kate on three separate occasions, in two different outfits, but I didn't actually meet them or speak to them. And that's brilliant.

Because now I've seen the Duchess of Cambridge. And she is gorgeous. I didn't think it possible, but she is actually prettier in person than she is in her pictures. And she's so nice. So is William. It was such fun to watch him playing football with a bunch of little kids. He tackled and slid and ran about in the hot sun and I just could not stop smiling. This, and Harry's Nepal tour last month, really prove that these two are Diana's boys through and through. They just have the best hearts.

Honestly, I'm so thrilled that I got to stand ten feet away from William and Kate, and watch them play cricket and get on a bus with a bunch of children. Royal tours are when these two are at their absolute best, and I just got to see them on one.

And I didn't get to speak to them. I didn't get to tell Kate that I love her hair, or ask William how George and Charlotte are. I didn't technically meet the Duchess of Cambridge.

Everything has worked out brilliantly. I've had the excitement of seeing that Jaguar pull up with William's face in the window, and I've felt my hands shake like mad as I tried to take pictures of my absolute favourite person (and her personal assistant, that picture got a lot of attention for some reason), but I still haven't actually met them yet, and so I still have something to look forward to, something to work towards. If anything, seeing them in person has just made me more determined to meet them. I will do whatever it takes.

Today has been the best day of my life. But if all goes well, it won't have that distinction for long.

N

Follow me on Twitter @NikitaWhoWrites or @RoyalCentral, where I posted a bunch of stuff from today morning in Mumbai. I will continue to live-tweet the tour for the rest of the week, and there might be a couple of posts on this blog as well. 

I Don't Know Anything

This is it then.

As I'm typing these words it is the eve of what will either be the best day or the biggest disappointment of my life. In slightly over twelve hours, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will land in my city, and then proceed to spend the rest of the day carrying out engagements less than an hour away from where I live. 

I've spent five years waiting to meet the Duchess of Cambridge. Ever since the Royal Wedding in 2011, that has been my answer to the question "What is the one thing you want to do before you die?" - I want to meet the Duchess of Cambridge. And suddenly, tomorrow there is a very really chance that it will happen.

I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, five years is quite a long time. I've changed so much as a person in these last five, and the only thing that's remained constant is my desire to meet the Duchess of Cambridge. But on the other hand, people wait entire lifetimes before their dreams come true, and in comparison, five years is nothing. Do I really deserve to get something so massive after such a short period of wanting it?

And then there are other questions. Is it really smart to meet the people that you've always admired from afar? And if I do meet her tomorrow, what will I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? And yet, if I actually meet the Duchess of Cambridge, then I never have to worry about death anymore, because I've done the one thing that I really, really wanted to do in this lifetime.

I'm so conflicted. And so excited, in equal measure. And also so nervous. I don't know what to feel.

All I know is that tomorrow morning, William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and two of my favourite people in the world, are going to be coming here. And I'll be waiting for them.

And I don't know what will happen. 

N

Follow me on Twitter @NikitaWhoWrites or @RoyalCentral. I will be live-tweeting on location for the entire time that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Mumbai, and then live-tweeting from my house for the rest of the Royal Tour.