Royal visit
Royal couple visit historical sites and places of interest
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visit historical sites and local attractions.
KUALA LUMPUR: After 19 long years, St Mary’s Cathedral near Dataran Merdeka in Jalan Raja here once again played host to British royalty.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the Anglican church as part of their seven-day visit to Malaysia.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the church in 1998 when she was here for the official opening of the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.
The Queen had also visited the church in 1989 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here.
Prince Charles and Camilla arrived at 10.10am and were welcomed by Archbishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing.
The royal visitors attended a 40-minute mass and later spoke to church members and several members of the British High Commission who were also present. They signed the guest book before leaving.
Archbishop Ng said the parishioners were excited to see Prince Charles and the Duchess.
He said he showed Prince Charles the plaque commemorating the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1989, adding that the Prince said he remembered that visit.
Prince Charles, 69, is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II.
He is the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, having held the position since 1952.
The visit of Prince Charles and Camilla to Malaysia is part of their 11-day tour to Singapore, Malaysia and India from Oct 30 to Nov 9.
At the Lighthouse Children’s Welfare Home in Bangsar, the morning rain did not dampen the spirits of those who waited for Camilla to visit.
The faces of the 70 children lit up when she arrived at 11.05am, in a mint green and white attire complete with umbrella!
Camilla, who was greeted by the home’s principals Steven Silvaraju and Jacinta Steven, was briefed on The Lost Food Project (TLFP), a non-profit organisation by its founder Suzanne Mooney before meeting the beneficiaries of the home.
The Duchess interacted with the children, engaged in activities with them and also served them lunch of rice, chicken curry and fried cabbage.
Steven’s granddaughter Ariana Shine Lewis presented the Royal visitor with a bracelet.
“The children also presented her with a drawing of a peacock that they did with their thumbprints, and a scrapbook,” said Steven.
Later, Prince Charles was in Perak to visit the Taiping War Cemetery where soldiers who died during the Second World War in then Malaya are buried.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission country manager G. Ghobu said Prince Charles expressed his appreciation to the body for maintaining the cemetery so well.
After signing the visitors’ book, Prince Charles left by helicopter for an audience with Sultan Nazrin Shah at Istana Iskandariah in Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar.