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Prince William and his wife Catherine were greeted by cheering well-wishers yesterday as they started an Asia-Pacific tour in Singapore to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 60-year reign.
The glamorous royal couple went from the airport to the leafy city-state’s Botanic Gardens for the first engagement of their nine-day visit, which will also take in Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
William, wearing a dark blue suit and light blue tie, and Catherine, in a cream dress with orchid prints, were presented with a specially-bred orchid named in their honour.
William was shown another orchid named after his late mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
They were then taken to Singapore’s grand, British colonial-era Raffles Hotel, where more than 100 people lined the gravel driveway and took pictures as the couple emerged from their car before stepping on to the red carpet.
Courtney Brassell, an American living in Singapore who brought her five-month-old boy along, said of Catherine: “I love her... She is always so pretty and I want to see what she is wearing.”
Despite the spontaneous crowds, it was a relatively low-key first day for William and Catherine, who were expected to draw much larger turnouts at public engagements today.
After taking a break at their hotel — named after colonial administrator Sir Stamford Raffles — they were formally welcomed in the evening at the Istana presidential palace, the former home of British governors.
Catherine changed into a purple floral dress for the Istana state dinner. The young royals are touring the globe this year as part of celebrations marking the diamond jubilee of William’s grandmother the queen.