This evening, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opened their home to young future leaders of India and Bhutan ahead of their tour next week.
William and Kate met Bhutanese and Indian students enrolled on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Chevening Scholarship Programme, the UK’s international awards scheme aimed at developing global leaders.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a reception at Kensington Palace in London ahead of their tour to India and Bhutan. Picture by NPA Rota / i-Images
‘It is a chance for Their Royal Highnesses to learn more about India and Bhutan’s people, history, current affairs and culture ahead of their forthcoming tour to the two countries,’ a spokesman said of tonight’s event.
Those invited to the reception with William and Catherine included those in the business, charity and academic sectors, India’s High Commissioner to the UK Navtej Sarna, and key figures from Prince Charles’ Britain Asian Trust were also in attendance. The Duchess even wore an Indian designer, Salomi, for the event.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tonight met with young leaders from India and Bhutan ahead of their tour (Victoria Murphy, Daily Mirror)
Prince William at Kensington Palace this evening pic.twitter.com/mA5vRBs1vu
— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) April 6, 2016
It was revealing for the couple’s paletes: Kate is a fan of Indian food but William struggles with spices, so it seems he may be avoiding much of the food on their tour.
For their trip, beginning on Sunday, the Royal couple will visit a slum of Mumbai, meet The King and Queen of Bhutan before taking a trek in the mountains, and then also see the Taj Mahal; see all their details of their visit here.
You can watch some footage of the reception below.
Earlier in the day, the Duke attended a lunch at Wembley Stadium to celebrate his 10 years as President of the FA. He took over the role from his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, back in 2006.
Greg Dyke, chairman of the FA for the last three years, said it has been ‘a remarkable decade’ with William at the helm, and they have ‘seen much change across the organisation’. He also commented the participation had grown, particularly amongst kids and women, become more diverse and is annually investing more and more back into the game’.
The Prince was keen to focus on improvement in his speech, however. He said the FA was in danger of being “left behind”.
“Our governance structure is in danger of falling short of modern standards of best practice,” he said. “As the country’s national sport, we ought to be leading the way.”
During the engagement, Prince William said he was ‘dying’ for Leicester to win the Premier League, and made comments about Princess Charlotte’s football skills.
“She’s a very good footballer,” the Duke said. “You hold her hand and she kicks. Very sweet.”
