William and Catherine Honor War Dead In Singapore
Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine paid tribute to British and Commonwealth war dead on Thursday as they wound up a three-day visit to Singapore on a sombre note.
The royal couple, on the first leg of an Asia-Pacific tour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 60-year reign, laid a wreath at a cemetery dedicated to soldiers who died defending Malaya against the Japanese during World War II.
The ceremony took place in front of a remembrance wall on which the names of more than 24,000 war dead are engraved.
The couple bowed their heads during a one-minute silence as a uniformed soldier played the "Last Post" on a bugle.
William, wearing a dark suit and red-and-blue striped tie, and Catherine, clad in a light green dress, shook hands with some in the crowd of about 500 people who gathered at the Kranji War Memorial in northern Singapore.
They then walked slowly among the white tombstones set in the well-kept lawns of the memorial as two bagpipers played.
Catherine sheltered herself from the hot tropical sun with a parasol as they walked, and many in the crowd of mostly British expatriates also carried umbrellas under the sweltering heat.
A group of schoolchildren carried a banner with the words: "Kate is great, Will you're brill" printed on a row of Union Jacks.
"We spoke about the serene setting that is Kranji War cemetery," Commander Paul Tebbet, the British assistant defence adviser to Singapore, told Agence France Presse after he shook hands with the royals.
The memorial is dedicated to soldiers from Britain, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, the Netherlands and New Zealand who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the Japanese during World War II.
The war ceremony was in sharp contrast to their previous outings in Singapore, where crowds cheered and photographed the glamorous couple at every appearance.
William and Catherine were scheduled to leave later Thursday for Malaysia, from where they will fly to the Solomon Islands, an impoverished former British protectorate north-east of Australia.
The nine-day tour will end in the tiny nation of Tuvalu on September 19.
Queen Elizabeth is head of state in the Solomons and Tuvalu, both of which are members of the Commonwealth, as are Singapore and Malaysia.
Source: Agence France Presse
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