The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began their tour of India and Bhutan with a royal charity gala at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel on Sunday evening in Mumbai with some of the country’s most famous film stars, sporting heroes and business people.
Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar were among those who joined the duke and duchess at the fundraising event at the end of their first day in India. The event will support three children’s charities, Magic Bus, ChildLine and Doorstep.
The pair spent their first day in Mumbai touring the city’s slums and playing cricket and football with underprivileged children from the area. They visited the Oval Maidan cricket ground and the historic Banganga water tank.
The royal couple are staying at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which was the scene of a deadly terrorist attack in 2008 that claimed the lives of 166 people. Police were on high terror alert for their visit.
The hotel overlooks the Gateway of India, which was built to commemorate the visit of Prince William’s great-grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, to Mumbai in 1911, when India was part of the British raj.
On Monday the pair will travel to Delhi, where they will pay their respects to the 70,000 Indian soldiers who fought for Britain in the first world war and meet Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. They will celebrate the Queen’s birthday at an event in the Indian capital.
They will also tour the Kaziranga national park, home of the endangered one-horned rhino, and meet wildlife rangers who defend the rhinos from poachers.
In Bhutan, the couple will be received by national musicians and have a private dinner at Lingkana palace hosted by the king and queen of Bhutan. They will also watch an archery competition.
According to the Buckingham Palace press team, the couple had wanted to come to India since they were married five years ago. On the last day of their trip, they will visit the Taj Mahal, where Princess Diana, William’s mother, was photographed on a solo trip to the country in 1992.
According to a statement, William “feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother’s memory is kept alive by so many who travel there”.
