The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge carry out lots of private meetings behind-the-scenes for their royal duties, as well as publicly.
The court circular (which records the royal family’s official engagements) reveals that on Thursday Prince William and Kate held a meeting with SOS Children’s Village in Pakistan via video link from Kensington Palace.
The couple first met the children in Lahore on their royal tour of Pakistan in October 2019. This time last year, they also caught up with SOS Children’s Village during a video call where they heard how the organisation had helped to combat the spread of COVID-19 through special sessions led by doctors and medical staff.
Some of the village’s children also showed the Duke and Duchess the artwork that they had created about their memories of the visit in 2019, including drawings and friendship bracelets.
Kate told one little girl during the call: “We kept our friendship bracelets very safe, so thank you for those. They’re a lovely reminder of our visit when we came to see you.”
During their royal tour, William and Kate spent a morning with the SOS Children’s Village where they joined a birthday party for one of the children living at the centre. The Duchess even impressed the group with her use of Urdu in her speech!
After their plane was forced to stop over in Lahore due to stormy weather conditions, the Cambridges headed back to the SOS Children’s Village to take part in a cricket match and an arts and crafts session.
Established in 1977, SOS Children’s Village provides a home and family structure to over 150 young girls and boys and promotes the development of children into happy, confident and resilient adults.
The Cambridges’ five-day tour of Pakistan in 2019 was described by palace aides as their “most complex” trip to date.
It saw William and Kate cover a range of engagements, which included playing cricket with locals, following in Princess Diana’s footsteps at the Badshahi Mosque and a glittering evening reception, where they arrived in a decorated auto rickshaw.
