Bawdy song that made Kate gasp
Duke’s bawdy welcome at the archery as duchess meets Kate of the Himalayas (A song for Wills – Bhutan style)
THEIR royal tour has so far been a model of decorum.
But as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watched an archery tournament in Bhutan yesterday, matters became somewhat fruity.
The couple appeared hugely entertained by a group of female ‘cheerleaders’ who were singing songs to try put off the opponents. Laughing, William joked: ‘Very good distraction songs.’
It was only afterwards that an official revealed that they had been ‘singing obscenities’.
Asked to translate the words, Sonam Karma, a Bhutanese Olympic Committee official, said solemnly: ‘You’re bald. You’re a baldy. Your nose is really big. We hope your private parts are as big.’
Bhutanese women are encouraged to sing songs to distract rival teams at competitions. Some are witty, some are humorous, and some – as William and Kate discovered – are just plain bawdy.
The royal couple flew into Bhutan, the mysterious land-locked kingdom in the Himalayas, from India yesterday morning on the second leg of their foreign tour.
Their hosts are the country’s glamorous young rulers, Oxfordeducated King Jigme, 36, and his wife Queen Jetsun, 25, who has just given birth to their first child.
The couple gave their visitors a full taste of Bhutanese life, which included trying their hand at the national sport, archery.
Bhutan’s version involves competitors aiming at a very small, brightly decorated wooden target some 476ft away.
The duke and duchess were allowed to move a little closer to the target but still failed to score.
Firing from about 150 feet away, William’s two arrows overshot the target, heading for the road behind a grassy bank at an archery ground in the capital, Thimphu.
‘I don’t want to cause a crash,’ joked William. ‘I hope I haven’t killed a driver.’ Kate too had a go with her bow, being advised by William to ‘try to shoot up in the air’.
But her first effort went only about 60 feet, falling near – but not dangerously near – the royal press pack. ‘Sorry,’ said Kate, giggling.
At least Kate had an excuse: Her outfit, a £340 Paul and Jo top with a skirt made from material woven in Bhutan, and cream heels weren’t entirely practical.
She and William were no more successful at khuru, the nation’s second most popular sport, which was developed by cow herders who fashioned large darts out of tree branches and bird feathers.
When Kate had a go she nearly scored a direct hit on a group of women players. ‘So sorry,’ she apologised again.
Earlier it emerged that a rhino had been killed by poachers at Kaziranga National Park in India on Wednesday while Kate and William were visiting the area. Kensington Palace said the couple were angry to hear about the killing.