Lahore
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate Middleton, during their packed day-long trip to Lahore on Thursday, visited the iconic Badshahi Mosque.
The royals toured the mosque and courtyard, before joining a discussion with religious leaders on promoting interfaith harmony. They also listened to the recitation of the Holy Quran. The couple changed into formal attire for the visit to the mosque with William sporting a suit and tie and Middleton, who earlier in the day was seen in an embroidered white Pakistani ensemble, donning a green tunic, trousers and dupatta.
The Badshahi Moque located within the Walled City was also visited by William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth when she was in the country with husband Prince Philip in 1961, and his mother Diana during her 1991 tour.
William’s late mother, Diana, who was a friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan, visited Pakistan twice — 1996 and 1997 — to help raise awareness and funds for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.
The couple — who are the first royals to officially visit Pakistan since Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited the region in 2006 — were received by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Governor Chaudhry Sarwar upon arrival at the Lahore airport on Thursday morning.
The guests were also presented souvenirs by Buzdar and Sarwar after an official meeting.
William and Kate then visited the SOS Children’s Village, where, according to APP, they took part in a storytelling session and interacted with the staff and children.
Prince William and Middleton also attended a birthday party for three children at the SOS Village. The duchess spoke briefly at the event and wished the children ‘happy birthday’ in Urdu.
Afterwards, the duke and duchess went to the National Cricket Academy where both of them tried their hand at batting.
After the game, the couple received some gifts — including a cricket bat for their children. An official told them, “You must apologise to Prince Louis because the bat is bigger than he is”, according to People magazine.—APP
