In a very sweet gesture, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reunited with the teachers and staff of the Islamabad College for Girls in Islamabad, Pakistan. Prince William and Duchess Catherine visited the college on the day 2 of their Royal tour of Pakistan in 2020. The Duke and Duchess made a video call to the college to hear how the school’s activities have been impacted by the coronavirus, before joining pupils in a game of Pictionary. Today we got a small video of the call.
The Royal tour of Pakistan was one of the historic visit made by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Described as the “The most complex tour undertaken by The Duke and Duchess to date, given the logistical and security considerations”, the tour was, in reality, full of excitement, personal touches and lots of iconic moments. At the end of the 5-days long visit to the commonwealth country, the tour was not only been a successful visit but it had also put both The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Pakistan in a new light. Read all about the famous 2019 Royal tour of Pakistan here.
Video of the call.
During the video call, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge played a fun game called Pictionary with girl students. Pictionary is a game where one team draws picture and other team guesses it. The Duchess was really excited, the moment kids started drawing she started guessing, “Is it a wedding?” she asked when the student draw the first picture of a girl holding a cake. Prince William guessed the correct answer, “Is it a birthday”? The Duchess said that was a really hard one and Prince William joked, “I’m very glad you guys are drawing and we’re not having to draw”.
The Duchess asked kids, “So do you appreciate being back in school now and seeing your friends and teachers?” To which kids responded with a very happy yes. Then they asked the Royal couple do they like drawing? The Duke answered the question, “Yes, definitely, we both like a little bit of drawing. Catherine is very good, I am really bad.” The children asked why to which The Duchess told Duke, “You don’t practice enough”. And William agreed. Praising the teachers, The Duchess of Cambridge said, “You’re doing an amazing job, particularly, now when things have been so difficult. You’re a real lifeline to families out there so congratulations on all the hard work”.
About the visit in 2019, The Palace said, “The outing was their first opportunity to meet “young Pakistanis, and hear more about their aspirations for the future, which is one of the couple’s hopes for their tour of the country”.
Islamabad Model College is a chain of colleges in Islamabad, Pakistan established in 1967 and the Model college for girls is the oldest girls institution in Islamabad established in 1978. The school is run by the government for disadvantaged 4 to 18-year-old girls who are all benefiting from the ‘Teach for Pakistan’ programme, a fast-track teacher training programme modelled on the success UK’s Teach First scheme. The royal couple learned how a UK project is helping to get teachers into the poorest schools.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also made a video call to SOS Village that they visited on the day 4 of the tour. Established in 1977, SOS Village is a private social welfare organization providing orphans and abandoned children a loving home and family. The organization aims to admit children who are complete orphans or social orphans through a standard admission policy. Social orphans are the result of the mother being remarried or having an incurable disease or mental illness and, as a consequence, being unable to provide for the children. From Daily Mail’s report,
Prince William and Kate heard how the village has helped to teach the children how to combat the spread of COVID-19 through special sessions led by doctors and medical staff, and the work that has been carried out to support the mental health of their staff and children throughout the pandemic.
Some of the village’s children also showed The Duke and Duchess the artwork that they had created about their memories of the visit last year, including drawings and friendship bracelets.
When due to the weather the Royal couple was not able to return to Islamabad after Lahore visit on time, they once again visited the SOS village and spent time with the school kids there. The visit also got us very first Instagram post from the Duchess herself saying, “The community at the SOS Village is built around family – and the best possible family you could imagine – where everyone comes together to nurture, love and protect the children in their care. These vulnerable children, many who have come through traumatic circumstances, are nurtured in this caring environment and are able to form these quality relationships that they so desperately need to thrive.” I hope we will see that video soon too.
Incredibly thoughtful of the Duke and Duchess to check in with the students in these challenging times.
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) October 16, 2020
We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the UK in promoting positive initiatives in both countries. 🇵🇰🇬🇧 https://t.co/yy8rH1XFyp
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan took to the Twitter and praised the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s call.
For the video call, The Duchess of Cambridge was wearing a yellow kurta (Tunic). The kurta could be part of her Pakistan tour wardrobe that she did not wear during the tour and chose to brought back now. During the call, we also saw a new ring on her hand.
