The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Singapore on 9 September, at the start of their nine-day tour of Asia and the South Pacific to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The tour included Malaysia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
The couple met Singapore’s President Tan Keng Yam Tony and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In a short speech at the official presidential residence, William paid tribute to his grandmother, ‘Her service has not just been to the peoples of her realms, but to the whole Commonwealth family, of which Singapore is such an important member.’
The Duchess gave her first official speech on foreign soil while visiting a hospice in Malaysia, their second stop on the tour. In her address, the duchess said she had learned the importance of the care provided by such centres through her role as patron of East Anglia’s Children Hospices. ‘With effective palliative care, lives can be transformed. Treatment, support, care and advice can provide a lifeline to families at a time of great need.’ Institutions dedicated to providing palliative care treatment for those with terminal illnesses are rare in Malaysia and across the Far East.
While in Malaysia, they attended a state dinner hosted by the head of state and explored the Borneo rainforest before being greeted by Pacific warriors at their third stop in Solomon Islands. The couple visited the capital of Honiara, where William played football with a group of local children and Kate met local women working to help address gender inequality in the country. In their final stop, the tiny island state of Tuvalu, the couple were presented with a number of gifts, including woven mats, fans and models of a traditional house village and canoe.
