On their second day in India, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — Prince William and Kate Middleton — had a whirlwind tour in the Capital where they visited the India Gate and the Gandhi Smriti. They also had an early celebration for the Queen's birthday, who will turn 90 on April 21.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge cut the Queen’s birthday cake, shaped like the Union Jack, with a sword. Photo: PTI
The Royal couple later interacted with students, ambassadors of Commonwealth countries and political big-wigs like Farooq Abdullah at a dinner hosted by the British High Commissioner at his residence. The Union Jack, which usually flutters atop his residence, was replaced by the Royal Flag.
Seeing the large crowd, Prince William said: “This is just like a sea of hands in front of me. I don’t know how many can I shake.”
Three Indian students who studied in UK universities got the opportunity to interact with the Royal couple. These students included Ankit Mehrotra, who won the Entrepreneurial Award for his start-up company dineout.co.in, Nishad Chaughule who won the Professional Achievement Award for film-making, and Ria Sharma who won the Social Impact Award.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge at India Gate. Photo: PTI
Photo: Reuters
Earlier, the Duke and Duchess visited the India Gate to pay homage to the martrys at Amar Jawan Jyoti. “Never forgetting those who have made their ultimate sacrifice for India,” read the message accompanying the wreath they laid at the memorial.
They also visited Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial and paid homage to him. Photo: Reuters
In a close to 45-minute visit to the Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg, they also saw the exhibits displayed there and were familiarised with trivia about how Gandhi learnt to wear a tie and play the violin during his stay in London as a student. Photo: PTI
