A big day in Lahore today for everyone — especially because, as I type this, Wills and Kate and the press pack are in the middle of travel drama:
A mid-air drama for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – and the entire press pack – as storms force our RAF Voyager to twice abandon landing in Islamabad and return to #Lahore The pilot circled for an hour but the lightening – and turbulence – was so bad we had to fly back. pic.twitter.com/mvTRVfHhiW
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) October 17, 2019
Apparently, Wills came back to check on everyone and joked that he was flying the plane, so people are in good spirits (if potentially barf-y). But they had to go back Lahore and they don’t know when they’re returning to Islamabad, which should make tomorrow’s departure interesting? You know how much I love logistics; my big thought was, “oh my god what about everyone’s STUFF!!!”
It was a big day, too, so I bet they are zonked: Wills and Kate visited the Badshahi Mosque (and the photos are AMAZING, it’s extremely beautiful), played cricket, visited a children’s home (Kate gave a speech; there was also cake), and, finally, visited the cancer ward at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, where Kate got to wear a princess tiara.
This is SO stunning:
Wow. (From my #RoyalsVisitPakistan video diary on Insta stories) pic.twitter.com/2PWiqQB6Xq
— Max Foster (@MaxFosterCNN) October 17, 2019
This is really cute:
Storytime at @SOSChildrenPK #RoyalVisitPakistan pic.twitter.com/fumQDXkmP5
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 17, 2019
I love it when they’re forced (“forced,” they love it) to play sports:
Kate’s turn playing cricket pic.twitter.com/Zh5QjCYtG3
— Lizzie Robinson (@LizzieITV) October 17, 2019
Also, while we’re here, this is neat:
Just some of the stunning dresses at @OnitaaLondon the Chelsea boutique in London where Kate and William sourced many of their traditional Pakistani outfits for this tour @Maheenkhanpk @Nauman_Arfeen pic.twitter.com/Gb1W8WpU9U
— Monique Jessen (@moniquejessen) October 17, 2019
Clothing-wise, Kate continues to embrace the shalwar kameez (you know that in London, Camilla is very proud; Camz LOVES a shalwar kameez); the ensemble she wore to the mosque is extremely beautiful and it photographed very well against the red stone of the building. That one is once again by Maheen Khan (and it was not custom, to my surprise, although the scarf was); she wore one earlier in the day by Gul Ahmed, which is a large Pakistani brand. In my next life, I want the job of getting to source interesting outfits made by local designers for duchesses. You get to both learn about fashion and figure out appropriate sartorial iconography to express to people that you’re interested in them and respect them — like, today, one of Kate’s pieces has tiny jasmine embroidered on it; jasmine is the national flower of Pakistan. LEARNING!
Anyhoodle, I accidentally downloaded a lot of pics, so let’s do this.
