Prince William and Princess Kate are all set to mingle with India’s biggest stars at a grand gala on April 10, the first night of their week-long trip to the country. This is William and Kate’s first international trip since their New York sojourn in 2014. They will be travelling without their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The royal couple will get a real-time introduction to Bollywood, as the dinner reception being held in their honour in Mumbai will feature dance and musical performances. The fundraiser is being hosted by The British High Commission in partnership with The British Asian Trust, reports Daily Mail.
After a night with India’s entertainment industry, the royal couple will visit slums around the Malabar Hill area, where some street cricket with the kids may also be on the agenda.
Another celebration is planned for the night of their second day in India: a garden party to mark Queen Elizabeth’s upcoming 90th birthday. William is to “use the occasion to personally pay tribute to his grandmother with a speech to the invited guests,” his spokesman said at the Buckingham Palace briefing.
Also on their itinerary is a tour of the home of Mahatma Gandhi, that will include the spot where he was assassinated on January 30, 1948, a safari at the remote Kaziranga National Park and a meeting with the folks running Elephant Family, the elephant sanctuary supported by the family of Prince William’s stepmother Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
They will round off their week-long trip with a tour of the Taj Mahal, where William’s mother Princess Diana made a famous solo visit in 1992, a month before the announcement of her separation from Prince Charles.
The couple is reported to be staying at the Taj Palace Hotel, which was one of the scenes of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.
Will and Kate will also spend two days in Bhutan, where they will visit that country’s king and queen and likely see the royal couple’s newborn son.