Prince William and Kate Middleton in Pakistan

Last night at around 9 p.m the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge landed at the Nur Khan Airbase, near the country’s capital Islamabad. They were received by Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his wife.

This is the first royal visit to Pakistan after Prince Charles and Camilla, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall back in 2006.

The royal visit to Pakistan is to last for 5 days, and due to security concerns the agenda is mostly kept under wraps. But it is said that the Duke and Duchess will be visiting Islamabad, Lahore, Gilgit-Baltistan and the northern areas as well – covering the cultural aspects, diverse communities and the beautiful landscapes of the country.

This royal visit was organised as requested by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In a statement released by the Kensington Palace, Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton,

“..will meet a wide variety of people, including children and young people; leaders from government, business, and the charity sector; inspiring conservationists; and well-known cultural figures and sporting stars.”

 

Royal Visit to Pakistan kicks off

Its day 1 of the Royal visit and the Duke and Duchess started off with a visit to the Government Girls College, where they toured the classrooms and met with students. Prince William was told that girls at the school were very fond of his late mother Princess Diana.

Diana had visited Pakistan twice, and also helped raise funds to inaugurate the Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

The royal couple were later hosted by Prime Minister Imran Khan for a lunch in their honor, at his official residence. Imran Khan was a friend of the late Princess Diana, and along with his former wife Jemima Khan hosted the Princess back in 1996 and 1997.

Prior to this meeting William and Kate also met with President Arif Alvi and First Lady Samina Alvi, at Aiwan-i-Sadr. President Alvi lauded the royal couple for their efforts in raising awareness on mental health, climate change, and education for girls.

 

Later in the evening today the Duke and Duchess attended a special reception hosted by the British High Commissioner, Thomas Drew at the Pakistan National Monument.

They made an entrance by arriving to the event in a traditionally decorated rickshaw. And much to our pleasant surprise, after a full day of seeing Kate in traditional Pakistani attire it was very refreshing to see Prince William dawning a traditional Pakistani outfit for men, called a sherwani.

Those in attendance were members of the business world, the creative arts, music and film industry as well as members of the Government.

In a speech made by the Duke of Cambridge, he said,

“Catherine and I are honored by the hospitality you’ve shown us, and we’ve certainly managed to make our way through a record breaking amount of food so generously offered by our hosts! I would like to begin by saying buhat shukria to you all for making us so welcome into your country.”

            

Royal Visit Continues

The Duke and Duchess started their trip to the northern areas this morning, as they arrived to the Chitral district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province via a helicopter ride.

William was gifted a book with pictures of his late mother, Princess Diana from her trip to Chitral back in 1991. The royal couple were given an official welcome and presented with traditional Chitrali hats and shawls, made locally.

They are said to have visited the melting glacier and hope to raise awareness about global warming and its effects on the area.

This is a developing story, please watch this space for more updates as the Royal Trip progresses. 

 

Read our previous article:
Duke And Duchess of Cambridge Arriving in Pakistan

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