AFP/Kuala Lumpur


Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, delivers a speech during a visit to Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday
Prince William’s wife Catherine made her first public comments on foreign soil yesterday as the royal couple visited a Malaysian hospice during their Asia-Pacific tour.
Catherine briefly addressed staff and patients of the Kuala Lumpur hospice as the British monarchy continues to ease the former Kate Middleton into her official duties as the Duchess of Cambridge.
“Providing children and their families with a place of support, care and enhancement at a time of great need is simply life-changing,” she said after Malaysian officials launched a new paediatric palliative care programme.  “With effective palliative care, lives can be transformed.”
Kate’s speech at Hospis Malaysia had been among the tour’s more anticipated events as the British public and fans worldwide sought clues on what sort of image she would project. But she spoke for only about two minutes, extolling the need for palliative care—a multidisciplinary approach to relieve the physical, emotional and other pain of longtime disease-sufferers.
William arrived in a blue suit and tie and Kate wore an aqua-coloured, knee-length pleated dress.
During the visit they sat with young patients, chatting and drawing on clay bricks that will later be included in a wall at the hospice entrance, a British High Commission official said.
William drew a cat and mouse resembling cartoon characters Tom and Jerry, while Catherine asked a 14-year-old boy what to draw. “Draw what makes you happy,” he replied, the official said, and she drew a “beautiful tree with some birds flying above it”.
William and Kate flew in earlier yesterday from neighbouring Singapore, where they kicked off a nine-day tour that will keep them in Malaysia until Saturday before they move on to the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
Britain’s younger royals are touring the globe throughout 2012 as part of celebrations marking the 60-year reign of William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
After arriving in Malaysia, they attended a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Najib Razak, followed by the hospice visit. In the evening, they were received by Malaysia’s 84-year-old king, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, at his palace for dinner with 400 guests.
The royal couple will make a highly-anticipated public appearance today at a park in central Kuala Lumpur before visiting a nature conservation site in the Borneo jungle tomorrow.