Monday, 11 April 2016

Royal Visit India, Day Two - starring George and Charlotte

They are a long way away from them right now, so it's not really a surprise that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are thinking a lot about Prince George and Princess Charlotte. And on day two of their tour of India, it was the youngest members of the family who took centre stage even though they were thousands of miles away.


The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving at a party in New Delhi to mark the 90th birthday of the Queen
(photo Kensington Palace Twitter)

From the start of the day to the very end, their son and daughter were constantly on their minds and in what they were saying. They got a look in on the very first engagement and a big mention in the very last. They might not have made the long trip with their mum and dad but George and Charlotte were very much present on day two.



It all began as William and Kate headed to Social Offline which is designed to be a hub for creative industry, helping entrepreneurs to get their ideas off the ground. It describes itself as an urban hangout combining work and play and the royal visitors got to see several start ups and business ideas taking shape. And among them was a system to help people learn to type Braille. Kate and William both chose to type 'George'.





The couple also had a chance to say thank you to the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for their stay there and then flew to New Delhi for the next stage of the tour.






On their arrival, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went to India Gate, the national war memorial, where they laid a wreath and paid their respects. The card on their orange flowers read 'Never forgetting those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for India' and was signed, simply, William, Catherine.

Many royal visitors have trod the path they then took but it's an important one to walk. The couple headed to Gandhi Smriti in Old Birla House, the home of Mahatma Gandhi and the place where he lost his life in 1948. They learned about his life, his work and his legacy and the walked barefoot to pay tribute to him at the memorial in the gardens there.


And then it was time for a party - and George and Charlotte to take centre stage again. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a garden party marking the Queen's 90th birthday and neither of them could stop talking about their children.


Kate was asked how she stayed so slim and immediately said it was because she was running around after her two kids. And then William took to the stage for a speech in which he said that George and Charlotte would discover how lucky they were to have 'such a wonderful great grandmother, a role model for the rest of their lives'. 
  
And while William and Kate might have had their minds on the next generation, it seems that it runs in the family. In his speech, the Duke of Cambridge read out a message from the Queen in which she said that she had fond memories of visiting India and 'it is with great pleasure that I entrust another generation of of my family to strengthen and renew our bonds.'



That brought day two to an end - William and Kate have packed plenty in over the last forty eight hours and there is another busy day tomorrow as they head to Kaziranga National Park.

There is a special page about William and Kate in India here.
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