Prince William & Kate Visits CHCH
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, arrived in Christchurch on the 14th of April for their last tour around New Zealand before heading back to Wellington and departing for Australia. Mayor of Christchurch Hon Lianne Dalziel was present to accompany Prince William and his wife around key attractions in the beautiful garden city. Crowds of Christchurch royal fans and media groups had camped out for hours in the early morning, hoping to catch a glimpse and snap up photos of the prince and princess on this royal visit.
On arrival, Prince William and Kate were received by a warm Maori welcoming ceremony in the Christchurch City Council's civic offices. This was followed by a visit to the Cardboard Transitional Cathedral where the royal couple prayed and paid their respects to the 185 lives lost to the devastating 22nd February 2011 earthquake, and offered their condolences to the 115 grieving family members present. This is the first time Prince Williams has came back after visiting the city three years ago to mourn for the victims on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, and he has since continued to express his best wishes and hopes to the community in the long rebuilding process. Right beside was Kate who sparkled in charming Canterbury colours, wearing a fashionable red skirt suit with a black belt that garnered favour from the locals. Despite the cold and windy weather, this did not appear to have kept away the tens of thousands of folks who waved and shouted for Will and Kate, hoping to shake their hands and have a personal encounter with the royals.
The couple then proceeded to Latimer Square for a show of cricket, in which the Duchess of Cambridge took a few swings of the bat, promoting the Cricket World Cup to be held in Christchurch next year. Later on, Prince William and Kate also went to the Botanic Gardens situated in Hagley Park to officially open the new visitor center, which estimate of 16 million visitors will visit annually. During the opening ceremony, Prince William stated that he would be delighted to visit Christchurch again after the earthquake rebuilding is completed.