Kate gets her first gong – from island sinking into the Pacific
A TINY island that’s rapidly sinking into the sea has won an unlikely claim to fame – becoming the first country to give the Duchess of Cambridge an honour.
The Duchess received her gong from the island nation of Tuvalu last week for raising awareness of climate change and to mark a joyous visit she and Prince William made to the isolated South Pacific atoll in 2012.
But as she is expecting her third child, the Duchess did not travel the 10,000 miles to be made a Member of the Tuvalu Order of Merit in person.
Instead, she was given the medal by Tuvalu’s honorary consul in Britain, Sir Iftikhar Ayaz, during a private ceremony at Kensington Palace. The Duke of Cambridge also received the Polynesian nation’s highest order alongside his wife.
William and Kate visited Tuvalu – the world’s fourth-smallest country – in 2012 during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Her Majesty is head of state there.
During their visit, the Royal couple were garlanded with sea shells and carried on a throne by 25 islanders to a field where they danced the night away during what William described as an ‘amazing evening’. Rising sea levels are the most pressing issue for the island which, even at its highest point, is only 13ft above the ocean. The island’s government believe that unless action is urgently taken on climate change, there will be no trace of it left in a matter of decades.
The Queen officially approved the awards to her grandson and his wife. The honour was created two years ago with the help of Major David Rankin-Hunt, who used to run the Royal Collection and is adviser to the hit Netflix series The Crown. He designed the medal and had it made by the British firm Gladman & Norman.
Kensington Palace said the couple were ‘honoured’ to receive the awards.