Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge rounded out their tour of Pakistan last week with some unexpected changes of plans. After visiting Lahore on October 17, the couple and press pack flew back to Islamabad, but the plane was unable to land due to weather, so they had to fly back to Lahore and spend the night there. That meant that their final day’s schedule was scrapped and they ended up visiting an army canine center instead.

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For Day 4 of the tour, October 17, William and Kate visited Lahore, the capital of the province of Punjab. Upon arrival, they had a meeting with the Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab at the airport, before visiting SOS Children’s Village.

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At SOS Children’s Village, Kate did a little bit of story time, reading to the kids, and she gave a speech where she spoke a few words of Urdu. KP still hasn’t put the transcription of the speech on the royal website, so I transcribed the speech myself, which is below.

We’ve had such an amazing time walking around this village and learning about all your lives here. We have been really moved and touched by what we’ve seen, and by the happy home you’ve made. I’m aware that many of you experienced extremely difficult times in your lives, but it’s inspiring to see how you’ve used your strength and positivity to help transform the lives of so many young children here.

Being here in Pakistan this week, William and I have seen on several occasions how family is at the heart of your culture. Parents, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, all play important roles. You have reminded us exactly what family means. You have shown us, too, that it’s not simply the term that describes the relationship between blood relatives, instead it describes those special bonds we share with all those who make us feel safe and supported. It is the quality of those relationships that matter.

Earlier this year, I talked about the fact that it takes a village to raise a child. The village we’ve seen here today is the best representation of that ideal that I could have possibly imagined. Together, as a village, you are transforming children’s lives and providing them with strong foundations to support all their families. You’ve created a home where children are given love, protection, and support that will help enable them to have a fairer chance in life. Here, women who were once vulnerable now play the most vital of roles as mothers; and it’s most heartening to see that you’re not doing this alone.

My own transcription of the video below

Kate still reads the majority of her speeches, so her inflection is a bit flat, but her confidence level appears to be much better than it used to be. As for the content, it’s pretty standard for Kate – she’s been talking about the “it takes a village” thing all year.

After the SOS Children’s Village, William and Kate visited the National Cricket Academy were they took part in a game of cricket with children who are participating in the British Council’s DOSTI program.

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For these first engagements, Kate wore a white shalwar kameez by Gul Ahmed and a shawl by Maheen Khan.

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The Cambridges then visited the Badshahi Mosque (gorgeous architecture), touring the mosque and courtyard.

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They then joined a discussion with faith leaders to learn how they promote interfaith harmony within their communities.

The last stop of the day was to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, where they visited children cancer patients. This hospital is the same one Diana visited back in 1996 and 1997.

There were a lot of Diana comparisons throughout the tour, which I find kind of off-putting because Diana made her Pakistan trips as a cover for wooing Hasnat Khan’s family (according to those Diana documentaries from 2017).

Moving on to Kate in a plastic tiara having a tea party with a little girl named Wafia, seven, who wants to be a doctor. There are some royal photos which really stick with me, and this is for sure going to be one of them. I love that Wafia wants to be a doctor and has a toy doctor kit, and also wants to wear a plastic tiara and have a tea party; and I like that Kate was game to join in.

For the last events of the day, Kate changed into a green shalwar kameez by Maheen Khan. This one is probably my favorite from the entire tour.

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As I mentioned at the top of the post, William and Kate were stayed overnight in Lahore, and before departing for Islamabad the following day, October 18, the couple returned to SOS Children’s Village (which isn’t listed in the CC). KP later posted about the visit on Instagram with a caption by Kate, which reads:

The community at the SOS Village is built around family – and the best possible family you could imagine – where everyone comes together to nurture, love and protect the children in their care.

These vulnerable children, many who have come through traumatic circumstances, are nurtured in this caring environment and are able to form these quality relationships that they so desperately need to thrive.

@KensingtonRoyal

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William and Kate then departed for Islamabad. Kate wore a kurta by Elan.

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Once in Islamabad, William and Kate visited the Army Canine Centre – which is modeled on the UK Defence Animal Training Centre at Melton Mowbray. William and Kate got to play with puppies and watch the dogs do their training exercises.

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For this event, Kate changed into a black Papilio Wool Crepe coat from Beulah London ($857.25). I would have probably liked this coat at a different event, but for the ultimate outfit of this tour it was a let down.

With the exception of this outfit and the green Catherine Walker, I’ve enjoyed every outfit from this tour – which is a huge rarity for me as Kate’s fashion tends to be more miss than hit for me.

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They departed for London after the puppies.

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KP then released a short video with highlights from the tour on Sunday. This highlight reel is much better than the one they released after the 2016 Canada tour.