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A bold pair of 6-year-old twins managed to become the center of attention duringPrince Williamand Kate Middleton’souting on Wednesday— but quick-thinking royal mom Kate didn’t seem to mind.
Sai and Taran Gotani were among those chosen to line up to meet the royal couple at Leicester University in a day of events aimed at honoring the memory of the Leicester City Football Club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
As Kate was introduced to the twins, who spent months in the hospital after they were born prematurely, she asked them, “What do you boys like doing? Do you like playing football?”
The answer gave her a taste of what was to come. “I like headbutting,” said Sai, who with his brother, promptly proceeded to give the royal a demonstration.
“They are very excited to see you!” said their mother, Kal Gotani, 43.
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The experiment showed what happens to marshmallows in a vacuum — which immediately intrigued the inquisitive twins.
As they jostled in front of the vacuum chamber, which contained a rapidly expanding marshmallow, William said: “They are the biggest marshmallows in the world!”
Meanwhile the boys’ mother was fighting to conceal her embarrassment. “They are shouting ‘Kate! Kate!’” she said.
“But she [Kate] said: ‘It’s absolutely fine. Don’t do anything. Let them be. I’m used to it.’ Oh my God! She is amazing with them.
“Sai was shouting, ‘Kate, how is Charlotte?’ And Taran has got a thing with numbers. He was saying, ‘How old are you, Kate? When is your birthday?’ I’m sweating, literally!”
Then, as the duke and duchess prepared to leave the room in the university library, the boys were there again, hogging the limelight. “You are very active,” William told them. “How many marshmallows have you eaten? You two have so much energy.”
At that point the boys decided to start rolling round on the floor in front of the couple, wrestling together. Turning to his wife, William said: “Catherine, you and I might try that. It’s a new way to do an engagement. It’s a lot of fun!”
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“Have you had a marshmallow yet?” the duke asked them. “I thought you were going to have marshmallows.”
Crouching down, the duchess said to them: “Shall I shake your hands one more time?”
That was not good enough for Sai, who leaned forward to give the duchess a kiss.
The twins were at the university on behalf of the Leicester City Football Club Professorship in Child Health, which aims to improve child health care in the city.
The boys’ mother said her sons were born at 27 weeks. “It was very premature. They had a very rough journey indeed.”
Sai came home after six months, but Taran developed an infection and had to have a tracheostomy to help him breathe. He did not come home until he was 19 months old. “He has gone from strength to strength. He started to talk a year ago.
“We’ve had a bit of a journey, but we are getting there.”
source: people.com
