I have to say, the photos from the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in Malaysia might be some of the best tour photos I’ve ever seen. Everything is just perfect – the colors, scenery, fashion and even some monkeys. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge might need to step up their tour game – this is the threshold I now want cleared when they visit Norway and Sweden next year.
Their Royal Highnesses have arrived in Malaysia for the next stop on their Autumn Tour. Follow updates of the visit using #RoyalVisitMY pic.twitter.com/YZHQbGPGPb
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) November 2, 2017
Charles and Camilla arrived in Malaysia on Friday, their visit starting out in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, this was Charles’s first time in the country – surprising given how widely traveled he is. Camilla visited the International School and was warmly greeted by students – based on the below photo (maybe my favorite royal photo of the year) that might be an understatement:
Camilla was accompanied by Raja Zarith Sofiah, the Queen of Johor as she opened a brand new wing for the students.
Later on, in line with Camilla’s focus on women’s issues, she met with a women’s group to learn more about the issues they face.
Charles and Camilla met with Malaysia’s ruler, the Agong, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XV Sultan Muhammad V at the national palace, Istana Negara. The two posed for the usual meet and greet on rather ornate chairs that the press was quick to note were rather throne-like.
That evening the couple joined the Prime Minister for a gala to celebrate UK-Malaysia diplomatic relations.
Camilla looked beautiful in a flowing pale pink gown.
And Charles, naturally, gave a speech during which he spoke at length about climate change and the environment, one of his priority issues:
“Transformative change is possible. To attain it, I cannot help but think that we need to embrace the concept of a circular economy that builds partnerships and develops an economic model that is regenerative and that creates, uses, recovers, recycles and restores. Evidently our investments must now all deliver long-term social and environmental values and it is vital that we decouple GDP growth from resource use as, quite simply, the Earth’s ecosystemscannot take the pressure.
“This is certainly not business as usual, but it is a path, it seems to me, which offers resilient growth and the hope of healing to societies, economies and environments. And, indeed, the way that we need to go forward is reminiscent of the characteristics of innovation and determination that have powered Malaysia’s economic growth. There is so much opportunity to be grasped as we catalyse the large investments needed into renewable energy, restorative agriculture and forestry, public transport and zero-carbon buildings.”
The next day the two visited St. Mary’s Cathedral in KL, once again showcasing Charles’s commitment to featuring religious engagements.
Another item on the agenda was Charles’s launch of the Forgotten Food Network, in line with his dedication to sustainability and conservation. Visiting the Malaysian organization Crops of the Future, the Prince was described as assisting efforts to find the “next quinoa.” In other words, identifying the next food product not known by the Western world that is healthy, can be made trendy and thus revitalize an economy and support sustainability by diversifying agricultural efforts.
Moving on to Kuching, the wildlife refuge in the Borneo rainforest Charles visited and which brought about another one of my new favorite royal moments: the future king interacting with monkeys. Or, to be more specific, orangutans.
Orangutans are currently an endangered species thanks to deforestation, thus tying in neatly with Charles’s. And here’s the little guy who received a banana from the Prince of Wales:
On the same day, November 6, the couple toured Sarawak Cultural Village.
This resulted in Charles and Camilla donning traditional local dress.
Tuesday saw the couple in Penang at the Han Jiang Temple. I love the photo below – say what you will about Charles and Camilla (and I know some people have a lot to say), but they look so genuinely in love on a regular basis.
There were a handful of other engagements later in the day and then, yesterday, the two jetted off for India. We’ll cover that either later today or tomorrow.