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The Duke of Cambridge made his way to the desert outside Kuwait City on the second day of his Middle Eastern royal tour to get a taste of the traditional Kuwaiti rural way of life and experience the unique culture.
Driving to a small oasis on a dune buggy Prince William joined Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah and young Kuwaitis under a tent to experience traditional Kuwaiti food, music, crafts, pit cooking and falconry.
Earlier in the day, Prince William visited the Jahra Nature Reserve to learn about the country’s plans to protect its natural environment from human and environmental challenges.
The royal father-of-three joined Kuwait’s Environmental Public Authority and the UK’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science on the reserve’s salt marshes, reed beds and sandy sabkha flats for several activities studying the wetlands’ wildlife including identifying some of the 300 species of birds seen at the reserve.
Prince William meeting young Kuwaiti in the desert just outside of the capital. (Image: Getty)
In a funny moment captured by The Daily Mail‘s royal correspondent Rebecca English, Prince William cracked a joke while looking for birds through a pair of binoculars.
Spotting the journalists he teased, “Ah, a lesser spotted media pack! Well known in these parts.”
To which Rebecca replies, “Greater spotted media pack, I think you mean.”
WATCH: Prince William pokes fun at the media pack in Kuwait. Story continues below…
Prince William also visited the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre where the 37-year-old saw how the museum is educating and engaging young Kuwaitis in innovative ways across a range of areas including space exploration, robotics, natural history and human biology.
He joined primary school children as they explored the museum’s interactive zones and highlighted the role played by the British Council in empowering the next generation, Kensington Palace shared on Instagram.
Prince William also met with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Saban Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the Bayan Palace where he enjoyed a five-course lunch which included cream of asparagus soup with white truffle oil, sole fish fillet, lamb biryani and black forest cake, The Daily Mail reports.
Following his engagements in Kuwait, the Duke will travel to Oman for the remainder of his royal tour. The visits, at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, mark his first time visiting the two nations and coincides with the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Friendship Treaty between Kuwait and Britain.
His visit to Kuwait follows in the footsteps of his father Prince Charles and grandmother The Queen, who have both been welcomed to Kuwait by the Emir before.
According to Kensington Palace, Prince William’s royal visit will focus on learning more about organisations helping to educate and empower young people and the programmes helping them develop life skills such as leadership and resilience as well as learning about the countries’ plans to conserve their natural environment.
“From the modern capitals of Kuwait City and Muscat to the vast Kuwaiti deserts and stunning wadis in the Omani mountains, the visit will take in both countries’ unique cultures, their beautiful landscapes, and diverse communities,” Kensington Palace said.
Prince William will wrap up his tour in Oman on December 4th.
