Day Three of the Pakistan tour took the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge into the Hindu Kush mountains. Their engagements included a visit to the Chiatibo Glacier, a tour of local villages in the Chitral valley, and a stop by a Kalash village. The mountain range spreads across northern Pakistan, and into Afghanistan and China in the west and east. So, a marked change of pace for the royal party after yesterday’s festivities in Islamabad.
Arguably the entire day was focused on the implications of climate change. The couple’s visit to the glacier was framed around the danger of increased melting, while treks into the local villages highlighted the recent devastation of mass flooding in the region.
William and Kate met with families who suffered casualties from the disaster and learned how the villages fortify themselves against impact. In addition to the flooding, the communities saw farmland and housing destroyed by rolling boulders.
In Bumburet, the couple were greeted by the entire town in outdoor festivities that saw William gifted a traditional Chitrali hat and Kate a beaded headdress. They were entertained by groups of dancers and singers, and Kate, true to form, took the opportunity to tease William about joining in.
Royal reporters also noted that Kate had her own personal camera with her for the day, and was spotted snapping her own pictures of the sights. She’s done this before – photographs she took while in southeast Asia in 2012 were eventually released to the public, and she also had a camera on hand when she and William hiked in Bhutan in 2016.
I hope over the years a few more of those personal photos are released – they offer a slightly different perspective than those highlighted in the media, and I like that Kate’s inner tourist comes out when she’s on these trips.
On the style side of things, the royal watching world is still working to identify every piece of Kate’s ensemble today, but her waistcoat and boots are by Really Wild Clothing, and her earrings are by Missoma.
I’m not generally a big fan of long skirts and tall boots, but in this case, there was good reason for it. Given her location, Kate wasn’t in a position to show any leg, and I would imagine she opted for a skirt over trousers to keep things as formal and respectful as possible. Thus, the pairing of the skirt with flat, sturdy boots struck a nice balance.
Personally, I would have lost the waistcoat, too, so while this might not be a big win for me, I do think it worked in the context of the day. And the photos from today are admittedly stunning.
TBD on what tomorrow holds for the couple, but it will mark the tour’s last full day of engagements before their departure on Friday.