The British royal family’s Prince of Wales, Charles, and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, are scheduled to have a nine-day stop-over in India, next month, before proceeding to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), 2013.
The November visit, their third to India, will also be their most extensive visit to India to date — with Charles and Camilla travelling to Dehradun, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kochi where they will meet India’s top political, business and cultural leaders.
During the visit, they will promote the UK-India partnership in areas such as conservation, education, business, women’s empowerment and training, an official note said.
Some of the specific events they are expected to undertake in India include the Prince’s off-road trip into an “elephant corridor’’ in Kerala, the Duchess’ visit to Doon School, and a visit together to the Indian Military Academy.
Bollywood also features on the agenda, by way of a “gala dinner in Mumbai with a Bollywood flavour’’. They will also mark Remembrance Sunday while in India, the note added.
CHOGM, Colombo
In Sri Lanka, Charles will officially represent the British Queen at the CHOGM in Colombo. They would attend the official opening ceremony and a dinner, hosted by the Prince, for the Commonwealth heads of government. The Sri Lanka visit is Camilla’s first official visit to the country.
In addition to this, Charles will hold a small number of meetings with the Commonwealth heads and others on issues of key importance to the summit, the note said.
In Sri Lanka, Charles and Camilla will carry out other official engagements, including a visit to a mental health initiative, a hospital and a tea estate. The Prince had last visited Sri Lanka in 2005 in the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami.