Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge trekked on Friday to a Buddhist monastery on a mountainside in Bhutan, going one better than the Duke’s father, Prince Charles, who on a 1998 trip broke off his hike to paint a watercolour.
Prince William and wife Kate dressed down for the three-hour expedition to the so-called Tiger’s Nest that is perched on a mountainside at 3,000 metres above sea level.
Kate’s outfit featured knee-length boots, olive trousers and a leather waistcoat, while William wore an open-necked shirt and beige slacks. The couple stopped along the way to smile for the cameras before the backdrop of the 17th century Taktsang Palphug Monastery across the Paro valley. “It was amazing,” William said after the climb.
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William admitted that after an easy start “it was a little bit cheeky on the second part, definitely.”
Reminded of Prince Charles’ visit, he said: “Well, my father didn’t make it to the top. That’s something I’ll be reminding him of when I see him.”
Porters were at hand, including one with an oxygen cylinder, but the couple managed without difficulty as they walked earlier hand-in-hand through sunlit wooded uplands.
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The royal couple finally got some time to themselves on the sixth day of their hectic tour of India and Bhutan. On Saturday, they return to India for a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra. — Reuters