Royal couple visit skid row arts center on final day in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (MCT) — Growing up poor in South Los Angeles, Lorenzo Perez never imagined he would one day dance for British royalty.

“I didn’t think there was still kings and queens,” said Perez, 19, who got his chance on Sunday. “It’s like a Disney movie.”

On the last day of their whirlwind visit to the United States, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, saw a less glitzy side of Southern California, visiting a children’s arts center in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ skid row and a job fair for military veterans and their families in nearby Culver City.

The appearances highlighted some of William’s charitable interests: helping homeless youth, promoting the arts and supporting troops. Sunday’s itinerary contrasted with the couple’s previous engagements, which included a charity polo match near Santa Barbara and red-carpet dinners with Hollywood celebrities.

The day began with a morning reception in Beverly Hills to raise money for the Tusk Trust, an African wildlife conservation group.

The couple then rode across town, escorted by Cynthia Harnisch, president of Inner-City Arts, a nonprofit that provides free arts instruction to poor children. The drive ended in the gritty neighborhood that has become known as the country’s homeless capital.

As the motorcade of SUVs and motorcycles passed San Julian Street, Harnisch said, the royal couple seemed “astonished” by the number of people on the streets.

When they pulled into the leafy campus, they were greeted by half a dozen elementary school students holding a welcome banner painted with ladybugs, butterflies and flowers. Catherine wore a navy and white crochet top over an ivory pleated skirt by the British retailer Whistles. William wore a navy suit with a light-blue shirt and maroon tie.

Sneh Chachra, who studies at the center with her fifth-grade class from Frank Del Olmo Elementary School, escorted the couple to the center’s black box theater. She was so nervous, she and her mother had practiced what she would say.