Singapore to welcome Will and Kate’s first visit
Residents of Strathmore Green in Queenstown will get to meet Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton on September 12, when the royal couple drop by on a visit to Singapore.
The tour of the Housing Board estate will be a main stop on their three-day visit, which starts on September 11, Britain’s High Commissioner to Singapore Antony Phillipson told reporters Thursday.
Singapore is the first port of call on the couple’s Asia-Pacific tour to commemorate Queen Elisabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee this year.
But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will not be visiting families in HDB flats, as the Queen did on her visits here, said an HDB spokesman Thursday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, seen here in Ottawa, Canada on July 1, will be in Singapore on a three-day visit starting on September 11. (AFP Photo).
Instead, they will be treated to short cultural performances before mingling with students in an art therapy class at the nearby Rainbow Centre, a school for children with special needs.
On the first day of the visit, just after arriving, the royals will be whisked to the Singapore Botanic Gardens to have an orchid named in their honor. Phillipson said they will also view the Dendrobium Memoria Princess Diana, an orchid named after the Duke’s late mother Diana Spencer.
The couple will then call on prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the Istana, after which President Tan will host a state dinner for them.
The Duke will also plant a tree at Gardens by the Bay on September 12.
The couple will round off their visit at Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery, after which they will leave for Kuala Lumpur.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/singapore-to-welcome-will-and-kates-first-visit/541465
Category: Singapore
