Visiting British royals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who spent around 45 minutes admiring the Taj Mahal, were amazed with the fact that “a king so loved his wife that he built such a beautiful monument to cherish her memories”, says their tour guide.
“They looked very happy while taking a tour of the Taj Mahal. They wanted to know more and more about it. How it was built and where the raw material came from?” their guide Rizvan, who took them around the 17th century monument, told IANS in a telephonic conversation.
He said Prince William and Kate Middleton also sat on the “Diana seat” for a photo session — named after the late Princess of Wales, who had sat alone on that marble bench during her 1992 visit, triggering rumours about the state of her marriage to Prince Charles. By the end of the year it was announced they had agreed to separate.
Rizvan, who was with the royals for over half an hour, said the body language of Prince William and his wife indicated they were “really happy to be there” and both were equally keen.
“They asked me everything about the Taj Mahal a person would want to know, but they were also amazed the idea of Taj — how a ruler got it built for his beloved wife,” he said.
Rizvan said they were also “very happy” to see the architecture of Taj, and expressed satisfaction over the way it was being preserved.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also did a photo session on the ‘Diana seat’ – where Prince William’s mother, the late Princess of Wales, had sat alone during a February 1992 visit, 24 years ago; triggering rumours about the state of her marriage.
While it was surprising for some that the Taj Mahal would be the final stop on the royal’s itinerary across India and Bhutan; Kate and William’s choice, is being seen as central to their own way of respecting their mother (in-law) and laying ghosts of the past, to rest.
Kate who wears the Princess Diana’s engagement ring; and has daughter Princess Charlotte’s middle name as Diana, with her christening at the same Sandringham church where Diana was baptised in 1961; ending their seven-day tour to India and Bhutan, with the salutary note for the Taj on their way back to UK, is also being seen as a stamp of their own strong and stable relationship.
The couple was accompanied by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials during the tour around the Taj.
Kate gives her nod to Indian designers[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”9″ gal_title=”Kate ethnic fashion”]
Prince William wore a blazer, shirt and chinos, while Kate looked cool in a white knee length dress with blue prints by designer Naeem Khan, as the mercury soared to 41 degrees Celsius.
Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, has given her nod to Indian culture, particularly with her blue sari-like gown, for the gala dinner in Mumbai, last Monday.
Kate’s vibrant and fresh look in a creation by popular Indian designer Anita Dongre also caught the eye of fashionistas around the world.
Dongre’s dress — a long, breezy printed tunic with Mughal details — looked perfect on Middleton, who is looked at as a style icon globally.
Kate arrived in Mumbai on Sunday, wearing a red printed Alexander McQueen and paisley-patterned ensemble on Sunday along with Prince William, who looked dapper in a dark blue suit paired with a white shirt and black shoes.
At a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, for Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate wore a summer sea green chic mint lace paired with a formal chignon.
Just before, Duchess of Cambridge visited some vulnerable children in a Indian style printed burgundy maxi and flat cream pumps and met street children at New Delhi railway station.
Shalini Singh with Sushil Kumar