Prince William and Kate Middleton will reportedly follow in the footsteps of Princess Diana and visit the Taj Mahal when they travel to India in a couple of months.
The Duke of Camebridge’s mother was pictured sitting on a bench in front of the landmark in Agra in 1992, in what became a symbol of her loneliness months before she and Prince Charles separated.
Now, reports in India have stated that Wills, 33, and Kate, 34, will visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site in April as part of their tour of the country.
It’s been said an ‘advance team’ from the British High Commission had held talks with officials in Agra on Thursday to sort out security arrangements for the royals.
A senior official told the Times of India: ‘The advance team did not disclose much information about the itinerary. Even the date was not shared with us.’
This will be the first time Kate or William have journeyed to the country before. The Prince of Wales visited as recently as November 2013, on a nine-day tour.
Despite no official itinerary, it’s reported they will travel round the Asian subcontinent between April 10 and 17 without, George, two, and Charlotte, nine months.
MailOnline understands Wills and Kate felt the trip would be too gruelling for their children.
Instead the siblings will remain in the UK with their nanny, Maria Borallo, and maternal grandparents, Michael and Carole Middleton.
This will not be the first overseas visit the couple have taken without their children having taken a trip to The States without their first born at the end of 2014.
The couple spent several days in New York City in December 2014 without George who remained at home in the care of Borallo.
It is hoped that William’s visit to the country frequented by his father will be a more unified one than what Charles experienced with Diana.
Prince Charles had visited India as a single man of 32 in 1980. Sitting on a stone bench in front of the Taj Mahal, the iconic symbol of love, he had vowed to return one day with the woman he loved.
Twelve years later saw this happen as the Princess of Wales’s accompanied her husband on a joint tour to the country.
However, the media were not granted their ‘money shot’ as although the couple had planned to visit the Taj Mahal, Charles was committed to a business leaders’ forum 1,200 miles away in Bangalore, where he was due to give the only keynote address of the tour.
This resulted in the iconic image of the Princess of Wales sat alone on the very same bench which many critics hailed as symbolic of cracks in the couple’s marriage.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a guest of the Queen at Buckingham Palace in November last year where they lunched together.
It was the first visit by an Indian PM in a decade and the announcement of the royal couple’s trip to India was made around the same time.
Kensington Palace declined to comment on the latest reports of William and Kate visiting the Taj Mahal.
In November last year, a spokesman for the couple told MailOnline: ‘Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit India in the spring of 2016.
‘The visit is being undertaken at the request of Her Majesty’s Government and will be the first time The Duke and Duchess have visited the country.’
Online Source
