The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge started the day 2 of the Pakistan tour with a visit to the Islamabad Model College for Girls. William and Catherine arrived in Pakistan on Monday night and were received by Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, his wife and British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew.
As expected the itinerary of the day was released in the early morning that showed a busy day for the royal couple. William and Catherine visited the Islamabad Model College for Girls in the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad to highlight higher education for girls.
شہزادہ ولیم اور کیٹ مڈلٹن کا گورنمنٹ گرلز ہائی سکول یونیورسٹی کالونی کا دورہ. شہزادہ ولیم اور شہزادی کیٹ مڈلٹن سکول کی بچیوں میں گھل مل گئے. شہزادہ ولیم اور ان کی اہلیہ کیٹ مڈلٹن نے سکول کے مختلف حصے دیکھے.#RoyalVisitPakistan pic.twitter.com/S6FrTwwmHW
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) October 15, 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.
William and Catherine joined kindergarten, Grade 4 and A-level students to see how they are benefiting from the Teach For Pakistan.
Teach for Pakistan’ programme is helping to recruit and encourage graduates and professionals from various fields to become teachers. Focusing on schools in disadvantaged areas, the program aims to reduce inequality in education.
49% of girls are out of school in Pakistan. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s engagement at Islamabad Model College was champion the importance of quality education, and how girls benefit from pursuing higher education and professional career.
From People’s Report,
Access to quality education, particularly to girls and young women is one of the U.K.’s top priorities in Pakistan,” the couple’s spokesman said ahead of the royal tour. Area education officer Mohammed Sohailkhan also echoed those sentiments to reporters on Tuesday, noting that the quality of education, particularly for girls, varied across the country.
In recent years there has been gradual progress in understanding how important education is for girls and young women. There is a realization of what it can mean in terms of jobs and prospects,” he said. “I can’t paint you an entirely rosy picture. It does still fluctuate wildly, particularly in rural regions, where there has traditionally been cultural barriers towards this, notably in terms of sending girls away to college. But these barriers are slowly being broken down.”
The royal couple pulled up tiny chairs to sit and introduced themselves to the pupils in the classroom at the school.
#DukeandDuchessofCambridge leaving first engagement of the day after visiting a school in Islamabad to see how a UK project is helping to get teachers into the poorest schools. Expect lots of mentions this week of the unique bond between the Uk and Pakistan #RoyalTourPakistan pic.twitter.com/NcjQmJCzCt
— Rhiannon Mills (@SkyRhiannon) October 15, 2019
William and Catherine leaving the school after the first engagement of the day.
The next stop on the itinerary was Margalla Hills at Margalla Hills National Park in Islamabad.
The Hills that dates back to the Miocene epoch, forms the foothills of the Himalayas, along with Shakarparian Park and Rawal Lake. Margalla Hills is a tourist destination and are full of hiking trails that snake their way up ridgetops and down through forested valleys. The park is rich in biodiversity, especially rich in Sino-Himalayan fauna, most notably grey goral, barking deer and the Leopard.
At the hills, William and Catherine helped schoolchildren to set up the Leopard Camera Trap at Margalla Hills.
They joined a gathering of children from four different schools taking part in a number of activities to show Pakistan’s effort to meet sustainable development goals at Margallah Hills National Park.
A video of the visit.
The royal couple learned about conservation and pollution at the National Park. There is a campsite at the Hills where school kids regularly meet and camp. Emily Andrews on Twitter reported, “one kid said they expected “the Prince & princess to be in crowns and tiaras” but they were “very humble”.
A video of the school visit.
For day 2, Duchess was in full traditional attire. She wore a periwink silk blue Kurti and straight salwar paired with a two-tone dupatta from Karachi based Pakistani designer Maheen Khan who designed dresses for Benazir Bhutto, Jemima Khan, Ghinwa Bhutto, Princess Sarvath al-Hassan and Princess Salimah Aga Khan.
The knee-length kurta featured a vee-cut on the round neckline, wrist length loose sleeves, white hand-embroidery on the front. The trouser was a straight cut fitted pant style salwar. Known as the Coco Chanel of the East Maheen Khan is the brain behind The Embroidery House, Maheen and Gulabo and was one of the predicted designers, we thought Duchess will wear during the tour. Maheen Khan did the embroidery work for Catherine Walker until the British Designer died.
The Pakistani designer posted Twitter, “My team is proud to have worked on the Periwinke silk outfit for the Duchess. Thank you .it is an honour to have been asked to create this outfit for the duchess”. Laaleen Sukhera on Twitter revealed that she recently interviewed the Pakistani designer who has an embroidery house in the UK that has worked on Cinderella (Prince Charming’s coat) & Maleficent.
It looks like Catherine repeated her Zeen Beaded Chandelier earrings that she wore last night with her Catherine Walker Tunic and Trouser.
Duchess paired the outfit with New Look Wide Fit faux suede low block heeled shoes in tan. Id by Carly from KateMiddStyle on Twitter. The wide-fit ankle strap pumps feature a pointed-toe shape and block heel. The $44.45 pumps are available online in all sizes. They are also available in black.
For the Hills visit, Duchess swapped her shoes with Russell & Bromley Xpresso Blush Suede Crossover Flat that she debuted during India and Bhutan visit in 2016.
Later in the day, Royal couple will be meeting Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi and will have lunch with Prime Minister Imran Khan. Then William and Catherine will meet with the British High Commission’s staff. The meeting is private and maybe we will see one or two photographs released later on. In the evening, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be attending a reception hosted by the British High Commissioner Thomas Drew at National Monument. The Pakistan Monument is a national monument and heritage museum located on the western Shakarparian Hills in Islamabad, Pakistan.