Royals William, Kate and Harry have magic day out

[April 27, 2013]  WATFORD, England (AP) -- Britain's young royals had a magical day out Friday with a visit to the studio where the "Harry Potter" movies were filmed.

Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry toured Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden near London, home to "The Making of Harry Potter" studio tour.

The royals, accompanied by 500 children and adults from charities they support, had a wand lesson, visited the Great Hall of Hogwarts School and saw props, costumes and models from the Potter series in the company of the boy wizard's creator, author J.K. Rowling.

William also seemed taken with props from "The Dark Knight" Batman trilogy. "I'm a very happy man," he joked after exploring the Batmobile and sitting astride the Batpod motorcycle.

Kate, who is six months pregnant and wore a polka-dot dress, smiled indulgently at her husband.

In a speech to Warner Bros. executives, 30-year-old William said he was "over the moon just to have seen the real Batmobile and Batpod."

"On the other hand Harry's just excited to see a real-life talking owl in the Harry Potter studios," William said of his 28-year-old brother. "I haven't told him yet that Harry Potter is fictional, so please keep the secret for a little longer."

Friday is the official opening of Warner Bros.' Leavesden Studios, a former World War II airdrome 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of London

Warner Bros. has spent 100 million pounds ($155 million) redeveloping the facility, where the eight Potter films were shot, into Europe's largest filmmaking complex.

It was recently used for the upcoming Tom Cruise sci-fi picture "All You Need is Kill."

[Associated Press; By HILARY FOX]

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