Prince William To Start His Four-Day Tour Of Japan While Pregnant Kate Middleton To Stay At Home
Prince William will embark upon a four-day tour to Japan, starting Feb. 26. This will be his first visit to the East Asian country. The Duke of Cambridge will visit Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, both of which were severely affected by the March 2011 Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
However, Prince's pregnant wife Kate Middleton will not accompany him on the tour as most airlines do not allow expecting mothers to fly beyond 36 weeks of their pregnancy. According to The Telegraph, the Duchess will be in her 36th week of pregnancy “some time in March.” She already has a one-year-old son Prince George.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Prince William will have a tete-a-tete with Tokyo's governor Yoichi Masuzoe. He will also indulge in a Japanese-style tea ceremony with him. The governor will take the Prince around Tokyo to see some of the key spots in the capital. He is also scheduled to visit a British cemetery on Feb. 27 before having a lunch with the emperor and empress.
On Feb. 27, the British royal is scheduled to meet Crown Prince Naruhito. He will then appear in a business conference in Tokyo and also make an appearance at a reception held by the British Embassy, says the WSJ. The Prince will have a very busy weekend too. On Saturday, Feb. 28 Prince William will remain in Tokyo to visit a television studio and also attend an exhibition in the city. The British royal will also visit the city for Fukushima prefecture on the same day.
During his visit to the Fukushima prefecture, the British royal will be accompanied by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, WSJ reported quoting The Asahi Shimbun newspaper of Japan. The two officials will meet the locals affected by the nuclear tragedy and will then have Japanese style dinner. On Sunday, March 1, Prince William is scheduled to take a trip to Miyagi prefecture, which was affected by the 2011 tsunami. The British royal's next stop is China and he will proceed for the country on the same day. He will be the first key member of the British royal family to visit Japan since Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles visited the country in 2008.
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