Prince William’s visit to the Taj Mahal was bound to be nostalgic and tinged with memories after the mausoleum provided the stunning backdrop to one of the most iconic pictures of his late mother.
And visiting the historic building on Saturday and posing with Kate on the same marble bench as Princess Diana appeared to have left the Duke feeling emotional.
He was seen wiping the corner of his right eye as he and the Duchess left the landmark which is a symbol of eternal love – but became one of the iconic images of Diana’s failed marriage to Prince Charles 24 years ago.
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New photos that have emerged of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to the Taj Mahal appear to show William becoming emotional having visited the same spot his mother had 24 years earlier
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The Duke of Cambridge was seen wiping each of his eyes outside the mausoleum in India
In the photos believed to be taken after his visit to the bench, William is seen bringing his hand up to the side of his face as he walked with his back to the cameras.
He then put on his sunglasses, perhaps to hide his emotions.
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The photos were taken shortly after the Duke and Duchess had visited the bench where Princess Diana had sat and posed for photos as she had
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Princess Diana was pictured on a bench in front of the Indian landmark in 1992 as her marriage to Prince Charles unravelled
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The royal then replaced his sunglasses in an effort to conceal his emotion while he was accompanied by his ever loyal wife
The Duchess is also reported to have become ’emotional’ during the visit after hearing stories of the landmark’s past.
Their tour guide, Rizwan Mohammed, said that the story behind the Taj Mahal had touched the royal.
He said: ‘[She got] quite emotional when she came to know that the queen died at the very young age.
‘She said, “She really deserves this kind of building as they were madly in love with each other,” The prince was laughing.’
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William’s late mother Princess Diana had visited the monument in 1992 alone shortly before her divorce to Prince Charles was announced
The royal pair brought their tour of India to a poignant close sitting on the same marble bench as Diana had in 1992.
The image of Diana looking forlorn and alone as her marriage to Prince Charles crumbled was a sign to the world that their’s was a union beyond repair.
It could not be in starker contrast from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tender display of affection as they prepare to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary on the 29th of this month.
William guided Kate and sat down for a small group of waiting photographers in a bid, he said, to ‘create some memories of our own’. The couple’s farewell to India could not have been more meaningful as they sat together, knees touching, beaming for the assembled photographers.
The couple arrived at the landmark monument at 3.40pm accompanied by a guide they earlier had lunch with at the nearby Oberoi hotel.
Then they walked through the famous garden, before William guided Kate to the bench and they sat down.
As they left the prince told nearby photographers and workers: ‘I’m glad you have got your hats on. It is beautiful, isn’t it. It was overwhelming. ‘
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The couple’s spokesman said they had only decided this morning that they would sit on the bench – and not because of its associations with Diana, but because it is ‘where everyone sits to admire the Taj’s beauty’
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Prince William sat down with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the same marble bench as his late mother, Princess Diana, at the Taj Mahal
Kate, 34, wearing a white dress with a royal blue embroidered motif by Indian designer Naeem Khan and her trademark nude high heels, followed her husband’s lead in taking off her designer sunglasses before smiling warmly for the cameras.
She was wearing the £6.60 earrings she bought at a craft market in Bhutan after her mountain walk.
William, 33, wore a blue linen jacket, which he wore over a crisp open neck white shirt with chinos and dark brown suede loafers.
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The bench Princess Diana was sitting on was the seat on which 12 years earlier a single Charles had posed and vowed to return one day with a bride
They sat smiling together for 25 seconds before being given a ‘thumbs up’ by their director of communications, Jason Knauf, signalling that the much-anticipated photoshoot was over.
When Princess Diana sat in the same spot three days before Valentine’s Day in 1992, she cut a forlorn figure outside the so-called ‘monument of love’, the spectacular marble mausoleum becoming a symbol of her loneliness.
“ It’s been really incredible to learn about the romance of the building and really beautiful architecture”
Dressed in a purple and red outfit, a then 30-year-old Diana told reporters she found the experience ‘very healing’.
When pressed to explain herself, the princess replied: ‘Work it out for yourself.’ Nine months later she and Prince Charles announced their separation in November 1992.
After sitting on the bench, Kate and William were taken on a private tour inside, where they were shown the tombs of Murghal emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved wife he commissioned the Taj for in 1631 as a symbol of his eternal love.
