Kate Middleton wore a traditional headscarf when she visited a Mughal mosque in Lahore on the fourth day of her royal tour of Pakistan with Prince William.
WATCH: Kate Middleton wears headscarf during mosque visit with William
The royal couple visited the stunning Badshahi Mosque in the heart of the Walled City.
According to Express, William and Kate were invited to the mosque by Imam Abdul Kabir Azad and Britain’s Honorary Consul Fakir Aijaz Uddin.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took off their shoes as they entered the courtyard, and walked towards what was considered the most iconic place of worship in the city.
Over lunch, Kate had changed into a green shalwar kameez by Maheen Khan.
William and Kate were then debriefed on the history of the Islamic building – which, according to Express, is the size of 10 football pitches.
Built by Emperor Aurangzebn in 1671, the mosque accommodates 56,000 worshippers and stands to the west of the historic Lahore Fort.
The royal couple were also invited to sit cross-legged with a group of religious leaders, including:
Rt Rev Humphrey Sarfaraz Peters, the moderator of the Church of Pakistan and the Bishop of Peshawar,
Azahar Ali Abidi, a Shi’a academic,
Ramesh Singh, a Sikh and member of the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Patron in Chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, and
Dr Ayesha Leghari, a Suni Muslim scholar.
Iona Thomas, a political counsellor at the British High Commission, moderated the meeting.
“We talked about how each faith teach acceptance. Then, we talked about the history of Pakistan and how when it was founded,” she said.
“We also talked about things that you can do to bring people together. The bishop talked about getting children to play cricket on mixed teams. And the Duke asked quite a lot of questions about what more can be done about religious tolerance.”
According to Express, the Duke asked a question about how interfaith issues are promoted amongst young people.
William and Kate listened intently as each religious leader shared how they were encouraging interfaith harmony within their communities.
The Imam’s son, Hafiz Abdul Razaq read a prayer from the Holy Quran in Arabic.
When the Imam informed William of the fact, the Duke said, “We’ve been learning all about the family history.”
According to Dr Ayesha Leghari, the couple had been “interested and empathetic listeners.”
“You have people who are interested listeners and people who are also empathetic and they were very empathetic. We were really pleased. They were very responsive and very charming,” she said.
When they left they were told by Honorary Consul Fakir Aijaz Uddin: “If there’s one word to describe your visit it is ‘joy.’ You have radiated joy wherever you have been.”
William replied: “We are very happy people.”
Over the course of their five-day visit of Pakistan, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also visited the National Cricket Academy and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.
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