Prince William, Catherine opt for quiet life

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LONDON: Prince William and his wife Catherine will go "under the radar" for the rest of the year, keeping a low profile after their stellar tour of North America, royal officials said Tuesday.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have barely spent any time together at their home in northwest Wales since their April 29 wedding, watched by an estimated two billion viewers worldwide.

William, second in line to the throne, is a Royal Air Force search and rescue helicopter pilot at a base on the island of Anglesey and needs to put in plenty of hours in order to become a captain.

Kate is to spend time planning which charities she wants to become involved with and deepening her understanding of her husband's charitable interests.

The couple, both aged 29, also want to avoid overshadowing Queen Elizabeth II in the run-up to 2012, the 85-year-old monarch's diamond jubilee year, a spokesman for their St James's Palace office said.

The duke and duchess flew back from Los Angeles on Monday after a 12-day north American tour during which they were greeted as rock stars, and even outshone Hollywood celebrities.

The royal couple, making their first official overseas trip since getting married, were feted from Canada's far north to the Californian sun of the US west coast.

"Since they got married they were on honeymoon, in London for most of June for family events and other events and want to go back and have a married life together under the radar, and enjoy their life in Anglesey," said the spokesman.

The couple are set to attend the wedding of William's cousin Zara Phillips and England rugby star Mike Tindall in Edinburgh later this month, a handful of routine public engagements and Remembrance Sunday in November, honouring the war dead.

Although the second half of 2011 will be quiet for the couple, 2012 is shaping up to be a busy year.

Besides the jubilee and the London Olympic Games, William and Catherine will, like other senior royals, undertake jubilee tours to the queen's realms and other Commonwealth countries.

The prince will also go on a routine two-month deployment to the Falkland Islands, without Catherine.

The deployment could happen early in the year, around the Olympics (July-August) or right at the end. (AFP)