Prince William, Kate meet with riot victims
William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of York, visited the Summerfield Community Centre in Birmingham, England, Friday. It's located in one of the areas hardest-hit in last week's riots, which resulted in at least five deaths and saw widespread looting, arson and violence.
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CBS News Royal Contributor Victoria Arbiter said on "The Early Show" the royal couple's visit, along with visits by Prince Charles and Camilla and Prince Harry earlier in the week, adds significance to the tragedies experienced throughout the country.
"The fact (that William and Kate have) gone to the area of Birmingham is particularly poignant," Arbiter said. "Three men lost their lives in a very violent attack, they were run over by a car, there was an open-air funeral held yesterday that 20,000 people from multiple faiths all attended. And the fact that William and Kate have gone there -- they spent time with the families of the men who died -- is really special."
"Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill noted, "Not that the royal family has not gone out and tried to sort of mingle with the people and been a part of things and tried to be more approachable, and a lot of that comes from William and Kate, but they're also having an impact in the way they do these things. ... They were touchy freely."
"It's really quite striking, especially when you see this from Charles," Arbiter said. "Charles has always been standoffish, very much a barrier between him and people. He's very caring, very attentive, but you don't see him getting in on the action. We saw him hugging people, bending down, getting on a level with some people, people saying, 'Hey Camilla,' rather than 'Ma'am' or 'Duchess' or official titles, so it's really quite amazing to see this side of Charles. We've never witnessed this before, so you have to wonder -- is the older generation of royals looking at the younger generation and picking up tips?"
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As for Prince Charles and Camilla and Prince Harry's trips this week, Arbiter said they were chosen for the particular violence experienced in those areas during the rioting.
"It's been very strategic," she said. "Charles and Camilla flew from Scotland, where they've been on holiday, and went to Tottenham, which is where the rioting started. ... Where Harry went in Manchester, it's quite a long way from London, it's where the emergency services were hit especially badly. People were throwing bricks at them, they lost fire trucks, there was significant damage ... and then, where William and Kate started their trip in Winson Green, it was a community that suffered a lot from the attacks, and the father of one of the men who lost their lives, he's been pivotal in stopping the riots, he came out and said, 'Enough is enough, this has got to stop.'"
Hill asked if the royal couple waited until now to come out because of safety reasons.
Arbiter said safety has been the No. 1 factor, but added that the authorities, the police and the media have had a chance to focus on the real issues.
"People lost their life possessions, they lost their lives and their businesses, but also people that lost so much needed time to regroup and gather themselves. If the royals had gone to visit them last week it would have been too much."
"It would have been just a photo op," Hill said.
Arbiter agreed.