Controversies and security scares of past royal tours to Pakistan

Controversies and security scares of past royal tours to Pakistan

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge head to Pakistan for an official tour, here’s a look at some of the other royal visits to the region that have hit the headlines.

– Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales, travelled to Pakistan several times through her charity work.

Her last trip was in May 1997, just three months before she died, when she visited a cancer hospital in Lahore as a guest of former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan and his then wife Jemima.

Diana
Diana meets a cancer patient at the Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore in May 1997 (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

She had worn an above-the-knee green wrap-around dress.

The Princess of Wales in Pakistan
The Princess of Wales, barefoot and in her above-the-knee dress, receiving a prayer shawl at the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore (Martin Keene/PA)

They were ordered to stop wasting the judge’s time.

– The Queen

The Queen last travelled to the state in 1997, igniting controversy when she called on Pakistan and India to settle their differences in an address to parliament in Islamabad.

The Queen in Pakistan
The Queen inspected the guard of honour at the President’s Palace after her arrival in Islamabad (John Stillwell/PA)

The Queen showed her respect when she visited the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad by swapping white heeled shoes for navy blue socks and covering her hat with a white scarf.

The Queen in socks and headscarf
The Queen wearing socks and a headscarf as she toured the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad (John Stillwell/PA)

The tour in October 1997 came less than two months after Diana’s death and the Queen paid tribute to her former daughter-in-law’s charity work in Pakistan in a speech at a state banquet in Islamabad.

– Charles and Camilla 

When the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited in 2006, they were forced to pull out of a visit to Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province due to fears over their safety.

Charles and Camilla in Pakistan
The Prince of Wales watches as the Duchess of Cornwall wears a hat given to her as a present from the villagers of Nansoq in northern Pakistan (John Stillwell/PA)

The air attack killed scores of people, sparking unrest and mass demonstrations.

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