Islamabad, October 16th, 2019 — At last night’s official state dinner hosted in honor of the visiting royals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, arrived in festive style: in a traditional rickshaw.
In preparation for the arrival of the royal couple, the first royal visit in 13 years, a number of rickshaw drivers had made the news for decking out their vehicles with tributes to the royal couple and the United Kingdom, and one of those rickshaws became the chosen chariot! A travel choice by the couple that made quite a statement.
The video of Prince William and Kate Middleton exiting the vehicle at the Islamabad Monument where the dinner took place, shows him wearing a forest green sherwani while the Duchess coordinates a green gown (complete with statement dupatta) and the subsequent shots have made rounds on social media, however with mixed reactions.
Under the hashtags #RoyalsVisitPakistan you will find appreciation for the fun arrival and you will also find criticism.
Twitter user Rao Hamza joined many in appreciating the Pakistani culture being embraced by the royals writing, “Its been a pleasure to see our national heritage on such a higher note.”
Another twitter user wrote, “Now this is beautiful.”
Now this is beautiful❤️#RoyalsVisitPakistan
— Safia diya (@pukhtana_tweets) October 15, 2019
But others found an issue with the rickshaw in the room, quite literally because rickshaws are actually not welcome in Islamabad, having been banned for quite some time from the nation’s capital.
“The duke and duchess arriving in the local rickshaw to the national monument in Islamabad. A reminder the rickshaw is banned in Islamabad but we use it as a prop to show the “cultural” Pakistan,” wrote one Twitter user.
The duke and duchess arriving in the local rickshaw to the national monument in Islamabad. Reminder the rickshaw is banned in Islamabad but we use it as a prop to show the "cultural" Pakistan. https://t.co/OaQgfzrT3T
— Maaz Ghulamullah Khosa (@masatmithizaat) October 15, 2019
Journalist Shiraz Hassan’s tweet about rickshaws being a “rare sight” in Islamabad with the video of the couple arriving attached sits at over a 1000 likes.
A Rickshaw in #Islamabad is a rare sight pic.twitter.com/ZBU8INlFbk
— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) October 15, 2019
The royals are headed onto the next part of their tour today which will take them to Lahore, the North and further west, the tour will conclude on the 18th of October.
