It’s been years since a working member of the British Royal Family visited Singapore.
Thus, royal fans were out in full force on Sunday (5 Nov) when Prince William arrived in Singapore for just the second time.
This time, his first stop was one of our most iconic attractions — Jewel Changi Airport, where he was greeted by hundreds of people.
Source: Sim Ann on Facebook
Some of them brought things for him, like photos of his mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Prince of Wales, 41, made his first public appearance of the trip at about 5.30pm in the Shiseido Forest Valley, which surrounds the famous HSBC Rain Vortex, i.e. the massive fountain in the middle of Jewel.
Similar to his frequent appearances on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, the heir to the British throne waved to the cheering crowd from a balcony at Jewel.
He was welcomed by Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development.
The Prince was thereafter led on a tour of Jewel, Ms Sim said in a Facebook post.
This included the pleasure of watching the Rain Vortex being turned on.
He also walked through the interior of the mall, stopping to shake hands with some lucky shoppers.
Source: The Prince and Princess of Wales on Instagram
Later, a Tembusu tree was also planted in the Forest Valley in honour of his visit.
Source: The Prince and Princess of Wales on Instagram
The highlight of this occasion, of course, was when Prince William finally stepped out into the base of the Rain Vortex to meet the crowd tirelessly waiting for him.
MS News estimated that there were hundreds present, many waving the Union Jack.
The obliging Prince chatted, shook hands and posed for selfies with the adoring public.
Some of them appeared to be Britons living overseas, chuffed to meet a member of their Royal Family on faraway shores.
Source: The Prince and Princess of Wales on Instagram
Others were local fans like author David Seow, who told The Straits Times (ST) that he had been waiting there since 12 noon.
Mr David Seow with Prince William. Source: The Prince and Princess of Wales on Instagram
Besides giving Prince William three children’s books he wrote about the royals, Mr Seow also showed him photos of Princess Diana.
He had taken the photos in London in 1992.
Mr Seow even gave one of the photos to the Prince, which must have meant a lot to him since Diana passed away 26 years ago in 1997.
A photo that Mr David Seow took of Princess Diana. Source: David Seow on Instagram
The Prince thus thanked him for the thoughtful gift.
Prince William is in Singapore to attend the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony on Tuesday (7 Nov), which is being held in Singapore for the first time.
The environmental prize was founded by the Prince in 2020. Five winners will get £1 million (S$1.68 million) each to fund projects that help environmental causes.
In a statement posted on his official Instagram account, he said it’s “fantastic to be back in Singapore” after 11 years.
His last visit to Singapore was in 2012 with his wife, Catherine. However, his younger brother Prince Harry visited Singapore in August for a charity polo game. The Duke of Sussex is no longer a working member of the Royal Family, though.
In 2017, their father King Charles III, who was then Prince Charles, visited Singapore with his wife Camilla.
In his post, Prince William added that he was “grateful to the Singaporean people” for hosting him, noting that,
Singapore’s bold vision to be a leader for environmental innovation sets the standard for others to follow.
The Prince will depart on Wednesday (8 Nov), but not without first calling on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Hopefully, he’ll get a chance to try our Hainanese chicken rice and nasi lemak too before leaving.
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Featured image adapted from MS News.
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