PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE’S ROYAL TOUR ITINERARY OF INDIA AND BHUTAN
Prince William and Kate’s royal tour itinerary of India and Bhutan
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will embark on what is perhaps their most colorful royal tour to date – a seven-day trip to India and Bhutan this spring. William and Kate will undertake the official visit from 10 to 16 April at the request of Her Majesty’s government, the week before the Queen celebrates her milestone 90th birthday.
It will be the first time the Duke and Duchess have visited either country and they are “very much looking forward” to the tour, a Kensington Palace statement revealed. “The Duke and Duchess cannot wait to meet the people of India and Bhutan,” it added.
In India – a country the Queen has visited several times before – William and Kate will pay respect to the historical relationship between Britain and India, but will also focus on understanding India as it is today and will be throughout the 21st century.
As for Bhutan, the royals will meet their Majesties the King and Queen, who have been dubbed the “William and Kate” of the Himalayas.
Day One – Sunday 10 April – Mumbai
William and Kate arrive in Mumbai. The couple will stay at the Taj Palace Hotel, which was hit by the 2008 terrorist attacks. They will lay a wreath at a memorial inside the hotel and meet members of staff who helped protect guests during the attack.
The couple will then head to Oval Maidan, a large public park that is home to cricket pitches where they will watch a young person’s cricket match and meet representatives and beneficiaries of three charities – Magic Bus, Doorstep, and India’s Childline – and play with children from nearby slums. There may be a few surprises during this engagement!
William and Kate will then head to the Banganga Water Tank, where they will meet representatives of a charity called SMILE that focuses on skills and opportunities for young people and their parents.
In the evening, the couple will attend a glittering reception and dinner held in their honour to celebrate Mumbai’s film and creative industries.
Day Two – Monday 11 April – Mumbai, New Delhi
William and Kate will meet with aspiring young entrepreneurs at a GREAT campaign event at a bar, restaurant and collaborative workspace called The Social in Mumbai.
The couple will then fly to New Delhi and begin their programme with a wreath-laying at India Gate.
They will then travel to Gandhi Smriti, a museum where Mahatma Gandhi, India’s founding father, spent the last few years of his life. William and Kate will tour the museum then follow Gandhi’s final footsteps from his bedroom to the spot in the garden where he was assassinated in 1948.
In the evening, the couple will attend a birthday party for Her Majesty The Queen at the residence of the British High Commissioner. The garden party will be attended by VIPs and William will deliver a speech in honour of his grandmother.
Day Three – Tuesday 12 April – New Delhi, Kaziranga National Park
Two engagements have been scheduled for the morning and will be confirmed nearer the time.
The Duke and Duchess will also have a private meeting with NGOs working in Delhi before they head to the Kaziranga National Park in the state of Assam. Kaziranga is a World Heritage Site and a wildlife conservation site of great global importance, home to elephants, water buffalo, bird species, the endangered swamp deer, tigers and one-horned rhinoceroses.
They will arrive in the evening and as their visit coincides with the Bohag Bihu festival, the celebration of the Assamese New Year, William and Kate will meet local people and see dance and musical performances around a campfire.
Day Four – Wednesday 13 April – Kaziranga National Park
The following morning the couple will take part in an open-air drive around the National Park itself. They will be welcomed by local people and park staff and later meet rangers inside Kaziranga.
William will use this opportunity to speak about rhino poaching and the lies that surround the Indian rhino horn that is being sold by traffickers.
After the tour of the park, the Duke and Duchess will meet local people in a village. Details will be announced later.
In the afternoon, they will visit the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, which provides emergency care and rehabilitation to wild animals that have been injured, displaced, or orphaned.
William and Kate will also meet young filmmakers who are members of Green Hub, a project that teaches film-making as a vocational skill to young people across North-East India.
They will then visit the Kaziranga Discovery Centre built by Elephant Family, the charity founded by Mark Shand, late brother of The Duchess of Cornwall. The couple will put the finishing touches on an elephant sculpture to officially mark the “call for artists” for India’s elephant parade.
Day Five –Thursday 14 April – Bhutan
William and Kate will fly to Bhutan and arrive at Paro airport where they will be met by senior state representatives. The couple will take a scenic drive to the capital city of Thimphu.
Their first stop will be at the beautiful Thimphu Dzong, where they will meet the King and Queen of Bhutan and take part in a chipdrel, a traditional welcome procession. They will visit a temple where they will receive a brief blessing and will light butter lamps.
William and Kate will then say goodbye to the King and Queen for the afternoon and head to Thimphu’s open-air archery venue, to witness the country’s national sport. They will also meet young people from local schools and NGOs who will be playing other traditional games.
That evening William and Kate will have a private dinner with the King and Queen at Lingkana Palace.
Day Six – Friday 15 April – Bhutan
William and Kate will hike for five to six hours to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest monastery which dates to 1692. The monastery is a magical place near the cave where Guru Padmasambhava – who is credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan – is said to have meditated for more than three years in the eighth century.
Back in Thimphu that evening, the couple will attend a reception for British nationals in Bhutan and Bhutanese people with strong links to the UK.
Day Seven – Saturday 16 April – Agra
William and Kate will board a plane from Paro airport to Agra, India, the home of the Taj Mahal. Princess Diana famously visited the iconic landmark 24 years ago and William said he feels “incredibly lucky” to visit a place where his mother’s memory is kept alive.