We have a very brief post to share today, with a bit of breaking news we thought might be of interest: This morning Kensington Palace announced Kate and William will undertake a royal tour in the spring, but not to the Caribbean as many expected. Instead, they will travel to India. Kensington Palace’s tweet announcing the tour.
The British Monarchy
The official announcement on Palace letterhead.
Kensington Palace
The announcement was timed to coincide with the visit of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to the UK. This morning the Prime Minister addressed Parliament and met with Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr. Modi also lunched with Her Majesty. It is the first UK visit by a Prime Minister in more than ten years. This evening Prime Minister Modi addressed a crowd numbering 60,000+ at Wembley Stadium in an event put on by the Europe India Forum.
Formally William and Kate’s trip is being undertaken at the request of the government. It’s possible the tour will be used to create or solidify and grow business and cultural opportunities between the two countries. That possibility can be seen if reading between the lines in this Telegraph story about the Prime Minister’s visit.
….Mr Modi said the two countries should “seize our opportunities, remove obstacles to co-operation, instill full confidence in our relations and remain sensitive to each others’ interests” to create one of the “leading global partnerships”.
The theme was echoed tonight at Wembley as Mr. Cameron introduced Prime Minister Modi. The Duke and Duchess have proven themselves adept ambassadors overseas, it makes sense to utilize their skills in efforts to create stronger ties between India and the United Kingdom. Kate and William’s most recent trip out of the country together was last December’s visit to New York.
While nothing official has been released about the duration of next spring’s tour, it is likely to be at least one week+. Kate fashion followers are already wondering if we will see another formal occasion like the Malaysia state dinner in 2012 during the Jubilee Tour.
James Whatling-Splash News/Mark Large-PA WIre
Or this Tuvalu dinner on that same tour.
Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA Wire
One of the first questions asked involved George and Charlotte accompanying their parents on the spring tour. The word from the palace is no, they will be staying home.
There is a long history of royal tours to India, we will quickly look at just a few. Here you see HM in February of 1961 visiting the Atomic Energy Center at Trombay. This was her first visit to India as Queen; previously she visited as Princess Elizabeth. The most recent royal visitors were Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in November of 2013.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited the country in 2013.
HM in 1997.
Charles and Diana on their February 1992 trip.
Diana, Princess of Wales, at Mother Teresa’s headquarters in Calcutta on that same 1992 trip.
Here you see Queen Elizabeth II presenting Mother Teresa with the Order of Merit in 1983.
On that same 1983 visit we see HM with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
With Prince Philip and Indira Gandhi in 1970.
While not in India, this 1985 photo shows Princess Anne, Princess Diana and the Queen Mother at the premier of A Passage to India, the film based upon E.M. Forster’s classic novel of the same title. (For anyone who might not have read this yet, it’s one I recommend, especially with the tour now on the horizon.)
We will keep you posted with any new information about the tour.
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Two other very quick items:
1. There’s a new engagement on Kate’s Calendar next week; the Duchess now has events on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
- Friday, November 20: Kate & William will visit Caernarfon, Snowdonia, and Denbigh in North Wales, continuing their focus on mental health issues. They will meet students using art to cope with issues at ‘Mind for Better Mental Health,” and also visit the Men’s Shed program, an endeavor targeted toward maintaining the mental wellbeing of men aged 50+. There is more info in this news release from Mind.
2. The deadline to enter our $1000 StyleRocks Giveaway is midnight tonight. (Pssst – if you haven’t entered yet, now’s the time!) We will announce the lucky winner on Twitter and FB as soon as we have verification of name/email/eligibility; we will also share the news in this post as soon as possible. (Look for ‘UPDATE” in the post title.) If you haven’t entered, perhaps this comment left by a previous winner will spur you to do so.
Susan/StyleRocks Contest Winner Blog Comment
May everyone enjoy a splendid weekend.
LINKAGE:
- Prime Minister Modi’s official website is here, his Facebook page is here and Twitter account here
- the UK Welcomes Modi website is here
- Click here for Hello! magazine’s look back at other royals visiting India
- The Daily Mail’s story about the upcoming tour is here
- The Telegraph’s story about Prime Minister Modi’s Wembley address is here
- a solid BBC backgrounder on efforts to strengthen ties between Britain and India may be read here
Mocro
Tuesday 17th of November 2015
My guess is the reason the children aren't going along is that this is a work trip and not a vacation. Kate could handle George in Australia, but two squirming young ones would be a handful.
While I'm in the camp of folks dying for a glimpse of the Royal babies!!!! - I applaud Kate and William for not allowing them to become photo props. And I assume a short trip means they can't wait to get home to the kids!!
mslewis
Tuesday 17th of November 2015
I'm curious as to why some people think the Duchess would wear a sari while in India. I don't remember any other royal visitor wearing one, why should Kate? It would seem inappropriate, in my opinion, to wear a sari, sort of like wearing a costume. Insulting to the women who wear them everyday. Beautiful and colorful clothes would be lovely but a sari, no. Leave that for the Indian ladies.
Lili
Tuesday 17th of November 2015
I see no reason for her to wear one just for the hell of it, but should she be given one, it would certainly be polite and politic for her at least to try it on. She could carry one off rather better than Diana could have, I think. Diana's greater height, more voluptuous and larger-boned build, and blondeness would have made her look very odd in a sari. I thought she looked entirely wrong in a kimono, beautiful though it was.
Faith
Tuesday 17th of November 2015
I did notice on several blogs that it is mostly Indian women wishing that Kate will wear form of traditional garb. I don't think it is all that far fetched. If she is gifted the items, she may don them, at least temporarily. Remember Diana modeling that beautiful kimono, and during the Southeast Asia tour Kate wore some traditional pieces from the region.
HoosierLori
Monday 16th of November 2015
I can't wait to see Kate's wardrobe for India! Looking back on Diana's wardrobe from 1992, she had some beautiful gowns made with intricate beading from Catherine Walker (later featured in her auction in 1997). I can't wait to see some embroidery or jewel tones to honor her hosts at an evening function. Here's to Kate finding an Indian/British designer that is comfortable mixing the aesthetics of both cultures into his or her designs. I am sure Kate will be stunning as well as highlighting her growing charitable causes such as hospice care and children's mental health- a world wide issue for sure! I am hoping for a tiara appearance, but alas, tiaras aren't required for many functions anymore. Casual Fridays has seeped into the British Royal Family dress code too. I think pictures at the Taj Mahal is a loaded topic- it will dredge up the past just as this blog illustrates. I'd bet two cents that they don't visit on this trip but at a later time so that the spectre of Diana is not as heavy. Just my thoughts on this....
Mel
Monday 16th of November 2015
I really enjoy these sweepstakes. I don't win, but it's fun to participate. If I were to win, I would enjoy my first piece of nice jewelry in a long time - I lost mine, and have not had opportunity to collect again.
Raman
Monday 16th of November 2015
I have been following this blog since 2011 shortly before Kate & William got married. I absolutely look forward to opening it, first thing in the morning, after a scheduled engagement! Reading through comments is always the best part and I deeply appreciate the care and diligence given by the Admin to create a community of Kate lovers who can respectfully discuss what they loved or not about the attire of the Duchess. Kate has been a role model for me personally, coming in a time of frivolous overload promoted by reality TV, to show that style and elegance can be achieved without going overboard!
I have lived in India all my life (for 34 yrs to be precise :) ) and have recently moved to Canada along with my husband, about two weeks back. Her tour to India seems like the perfect opportunity to finally verbally join the community I genuinely adore!
Spring is actually the best time to visit India, with moderate heat and next to no humidity unless one goes to the very South of India. So been bit surprised with all the comments about heat & humidity being the reasons as to why George and Charlotte are being left. I doubt that. Since this will be a first time visit for both William & Kate, and India is a country that appears to be a lot worse from outside than it actually is - it makes sense they're apprehensive to take their young children along. I am yet to see one documentary / travel program that has shown the more affluent or the way the better off people live here. I guess the downside sells more :)
I don't think there will be any occasion for the Duchess to wear a Tiara, considering how rare Kate wears it. Even the state Banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's Palace) is generally an understated affair say compared to the one the Buckingham Palace had for the Chinese President. But definitely we will get to see the Duchess in bright colors and I am hoping at least one Indian outfit. :) REALLLY excited to see if the Duchess chooses to wear an Indian Designer!
India being such a diverse land, I am quite curious to see what direction will the tour take! My guesses will be a mix of cultural, bit of new technology and of course a trip to one of the ashram's for the underprivileged maybe Mother Teresa's to honor the memory of Diana. I 'll be shocked if they leave Taj Mahal out of the Itinerary though! We need to see that happy & blissful picture of William & Kate unlike that lonesome one of Diana. Looking forward!
Lili
Monday 16th of November 2015
I love your remarks, being an old India fan, and I agree that outsiders do often have a rather distorted understanding of the country. I visited in the company of a former boyfriend, an American who'd spent his high school years in India while his father was teaching there, and who had chosen an Indian topic for his doctoral dissertation in Economics. Everyone I met was either an academic or a business executive. India has, of course, ancient traditions of both scholarship and successful mercantile activity. My visit later inspired one of my own favorite grad school seminar papers.
I think the claim regarding the weather as an excuse not to take the children along was probably merely manufactured by the media. My guess is that they simply see no need to drag two small children, plus their nanny, clothes, toys, and security personnel, to South Asia. It couldn't have been all that easy to manage taking Prince George Down Under, though he was only one child, and at the time, it was obviously regarded as good public relations. Having had that experience, and now being more sanguine and less nervous about parenthood in general, they probably feel uninclined to repeat the experience times two and confident that they can handle leaving their offspring in the hands of the nanny and the grandparents for what will likely be a shorter trip.
admin
Monday 16th of November 2015
It's a delight to read your comment. I'm sure you can help us all with the type of insight really only available from those who see India through the prism of first-hand experience. Like you I don't expect to see a tiara, but do look forward to bright colors and gorgeous textiles. (And you know I am excited by the prospect of learning about Indian designers. If there are any you think we should be looking at, feel free to to let me/us know about them.):)