"She is the antithesis of Kim Kardashian"
New York City is relishing in the most anticipated royal visit in decades; The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, arrived Sunday night at their luxury hotel, with no shortage of fanfare.
Monday, the prince will jet to Washington, to meet President Obama, while the Duchess will visit a youth center in Harlem. But for the most popular royals in recent history, star-struck fans are never far off reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.
If their arrival was any indication, a general flash warning should be issued for this visit.
It's the first time William and Kate have ever been to New York as a royal couple. They're traveling without baby George, who is to be joined by another royal baby in the spring.
Among the more dedicated fans waiting outside the upscale Manhattan hotel on Sunday night were Carol and Claudia, who brought their tiaras and headed up early from North Carolina to stake out a spot.
"So as we heard the news, we called each other -- 'We have to go!' -- But then we had to convince the husbands," Carol said.
But this is a different kind of celebrity; not the disposable, famous-for-being-famous kind.
The royal couple has been to the U.S. once before -- a brief stop in LA, where they were not out-glittered. On this trip, they'll spread some more of the royal glamor around, while promoting, and raising bags of cash, for some of their favorite charities -- wildlife conservation for him, children's protection agencies and the arts for her.
From America's original love affair with Diana, to the shock over her untimely death, to the fairy tale of her son's wedding, to the redemption of the birth of his and Kate's first child and to the pending arrival of another -- this is enduring celebrity with substance.
Kate, according to New York Post senior features writer and editor Dana Schuster, gives celebrity a good name just when it needs it.
"She is the antithesis of Kim Kardashian which is really refreshing nowadays," Schuster said. "We witnessed Will and Kate's ups and downs, we know they broke up, we know about her morning sickness but there's still a lot of mystique left and we're not sick of her yet."
The royals haven't endured for centuries without learning a thing or two about how to stay popular.
Whether by luck or design, they now provide something for everybody -- a familiar, mother of the nation figure, a glamor couple waiting in the wings for the future.
Even Charles and Camilla appear settled and happy, and there's the added entertainment of the potentially rogue uncle, Prince Harry. No wonder this story runs and runs.