Kate Middleton and Prince William Leave Awestruck North America

July 11, 2011 -- Prince William and Kate Middleton boarded a British Airways commercial flight in Los Angeles Sunday bound for their London home, but not before taking the city of Los Angeles, and North America by storm.

It was the duchess herself who made the most news in the trip's final hours, issuing her first public words of the couple's three-day stop in California.

"Really enjoyed it, thank you," Kate said in impromptu remarks to a reporter asking how she liked her first trip to the U.S. as the couple greeted fans staked outside the British consul's residence in the city's Hancock Park neighborhood where they stayed.

The minor tremor those few words sparked in even the media capital of the world show just how much the American public, and even Hollywood's most A-list stars, could not get enough of Prince William and his bride, who handled the public attention in a sort of trial-by-fire.

"I know inside she is nervous," Arthur Edwards, royal photographer for the U.K.'s Daily Sun told ABC News. "But it doesn't show, and that's what's important. She looks confident."

Having out-shone Hollywood's glitziest stars at a red-carpet, black-tie dinner for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts the night before, Kate and her groom displayed their confidence, and compassion, in different ways on the final stops of their tour.

On Sunday, the couple saw another side of Los Angeles when they visited Inner City Arts, an arts academy for disadvantaged children on skid row, one of the city's most impoverished neighborhoods.

There Kate and Will, who have made headlines throughout their trip by showing public displays of affection rarely seen from royals, showed their lighter side once again, as they painted alongside students from the art academy.

"What the heck is that?" Prince William asked his bride of her painting.

Sunday's agenda also included a private breakfast with patrons of Tusk Trust, an African wildlife conservation group, and a final stop with the group ServiceNation: Mission Serve, for a jobs fair with combat veterans.

"This is the last event on our tour of North America, but to my mind, it is one of the most important," Prince William told the audience as he stood in front of a giant American flag at Sony Pictures Studio, where the jobs fair was held.

He also wrapped up his remarks by telling the audience "how grateful we are to have been welcomed so warmly in the Golden State and the City of Angels. Thank you so much."

Royals Among Hollywood's Royals

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the couple is formally known, had Hollywood dancing on pins and needles from the moment their plane landed in L.A. over the weekend, fresh off their nine-day visit to Canada.

SEE PHOTOS: Will and Kate Mingle With Hollywood A-Listers

"L.A. is more used to big Hollywood stars than anywhere else," said ABC News royal correspondent Katie Nicholl. "It's the most famous place in the world for stars."

On Saturday, Prince William played in a charity polo match in Santa Barbara, where people paid as much as $400 to watch from the stands and $4,000 to attend a champagne reception with the royals, all benefitting a foundation established by the prince and his brother, Harry.

Kate presented her husband with the trophy at the match, garnering a kiss on the cheek and drawing eyeballs as the couple continues to put their own, new spin on royal life.

But it was that evening, at the red-carpet BAFTA dinner, where the royals set Hollywood's own royalty on its heels, mingling with, and wowing, the likes of Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman and Barbra Streisand. About 42 emerging British actors also attended, along with such Hollywood up-and-comers as Ed Westwick, Blake Lively and Chris Evans.

"They're the biggest stars in the world," CNN host, and fellow Brit, Piers Morgan noted of Kate and William's appeal. "You tell me, who's gotten married in the history of Hollywood who had 2 billion people watching."

Prince William (who's also the president of BAFTA) delivered a speech at the gala, which spotlighted emerging British talent and building partnerships between Hollywood and up-and-coming British actors.

But it was Prince William's new bride, Kate, who stole the show once again with a stunning entrance on the couple's first Hollywood red carpet, wearing earrings loaned by the queen, Jimmy Choo sandals and a lavender gown by Alexander McQueen, the same fashion house that designed her wedding gown.

Kate's wardrobe, rumored to be 40 outfits in all for a trip in which she changed as many as three or four times a day, could have been the most watched, and most anticipated, aspect of the couple's first official trip overseas.

"She's making a mark in the fashion world, for sure," celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe told ABC. "She's flawless. Whatever she wears sells out in minutes."

SEE PHOTOS: Kate Middleton's Best Fashion Moments

The duchess, as was widely reported, chose to travel without a stylist or royal dresser on this trip, part of the young royals' "trimmed down" entourage, but she still dazzled heads and hearts with her fashion choices.

She brought mostly feminine looks, including a pleated lilac floor-length gown designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, a vibrant green dress and handbag by American designer Diane Von Furstenberg and a silver silk dress with hand-painted flowers by British designer Jenny Packham.

"That is just effortless at its best," Zoe said of Kate's style. "She really looks like she just goes into her closet and says, 'I'm going to put on jeans, a cute pair of shoes and go out the door and, oh yes, I'm a princess.'"

Royal Fashion Extra: Get Kate's Royal Looks for Less

"No matter what she wears, it's going to be on trend, it's going to stay," Zoe said.

On Sunday, before heading back to the U.K., Kate chose an outfit that allowed her to be perfectly at ease as she visited with children, wearing a navy and white crochet top and a white pleat skirt, both from not a fashion house but U.K. High Street brand Whistles, and sapphire and diamond earrings to complement her famous sapphire engagement ring.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.