- Duke and Duchess of Cambridge make latest stop on South Pacific tour in Solomon Islands
- Treated to traditional warrior welcome and travel in war canoe
- Kate talks of married life and importance of her family
- Duchess swapped bright yellow Jaeger day dress for navy blue Mulberry frock for evening
- Kate given decorative headpiece by well-wishers made from exotic frangipani and bougainvillea
If she had been hoping to put thoughts of the topless furore behind her, Kate didn’t have a chance yesterday.
As she arrived at the tiny village of Marau on the Solomon Islands, she was greeted with a line-up of bare-breasted dancers.
And she burst into giggles as the smiling women in grass skirts presented her and William with shell necklaces.
The pair watched as 30 bare-chested women danced in front of them before garlanding them with necklaces made of shell ‘money’ and the teeth of dolphins found washed up on the shore.
After all the anxiety of the last few days, there will be no chance that Kate’s tempted to try sunbathing au naturel again soon. Not that the locals would bat an eyelid.
‘They don’t like you to show your legs – people use a sarong – but they don’t mind if you show your “sou-sous”,’ said Pamela Kimberley, co-owner of the island of Tavanipupu, where William and Kate were enjoying a precious few hours of privacy last night, which included dinner served by an Irish chef.
Visitors are welcome to wear ‘anything or nothing’, she said. ‘We don’t care what they do. There is only one rule: no rules.’
The couple made their way to Tavanipupu by dugout canoe after a busy day meeting spear-carrying painted tribesmen and women’s groups.
They were spending last night in a thatched leaf bungalow, one of only eight on the palm-fringed island.
Their private sanctuary has a bed carved out of bamboo and an outdoor shower. It also has its own jetty, where, after walking barefoot to their room with tropical fruit cocktails in their hands, the royal couple were expected to dine alone out under the stars, beneath a muslin canopy illuminated by lanterns.
On chef Paul Carr’s menu was a wide choice of exquisite international and Solomon Islands cuisine, including the island’s own coconut-fed chickens, and freshly-caught ikamata – yellow fin tuna in lime juice – and chilli mud crab.
‘The menu that we have tonight, we’ve practised for two weeks,’ the chef said. The couple’s bungalow sits beside the palm-fringed shore of the 37-acre tropical island in the beautiful Marau Sound lagoon beside the Coral Sea in the Solomon Islands.
‘People who have wanted to bring private chefs, fly in furniture and so on, but the duke and duchess are so down to earth. They haven’t asked for one thing.’
Today the couple depart for Tuvalu, one of the most remote islands on earth, on the last leg of their tour.
As she arrived at the tiny village of Marau on the Solomon Islands, she was greeted with a line-up of bare-breasted dancers.
And she burst into giggles as the smiling women in grass skirts presented her and William with shell necklaces.
Click here to watch video of Kate getting the giggles...
How funny: Kate stifles a giggle as she and William are garlanded by a gaggle of bare-chested women after they arrive on Marau in the Solomon Islands
Baring all: It was a world away from the storm that has engulfed the couple because of topless pictures of Kate published by a french magazine Closer last week
William did his best to discreetly avert his eyes but failed spectacularly as he bent his head to receive the necklace.The pair watched as 30 bare-chested women danced in front of them before garlanding them with necklaces made of shell ‘money’ and the teeth of dolphins found washed up on the shore.
After all the anxiety of the last few days, there will be no chance that Kate’s tempted to try sunbathing au naturel again soon. Not that the locals would bat an eyelid.
‘They don’t like you to show your legs – people use a sarong – but they don’t mind if you show your “sou-sous”,’ said Pamela Kimberley, co-owner of the island of Tavanipupu, where William and Kate were enjoying a precious few hours of privacy last night, which included dinner served by an Irish chef.
Visitors are welcome to wear ‘anything or nothing’, she said. ‘We don’t care what they do. There is only one rule: no rules.’
Intricate: The colourful necklaces, worth up to £150 each, took three months to make
Hello! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge receive a traditional welcome from locals when they land in Marau
They were spending last night in a thatched leaf bungalow, one of only eight on the palm-fringed island.
Their private sanctuary has a bed carved out of bamboo and an outdoor shower. It also has its own jetty, where, after walking barefoot to their room with tropical fruit cocktails in their hands, the royal couple were expected to dine alone out under the stars, beneath a muslin canopy illuminated by lanterns.
On chef Paul Carr’s menu was a wide choice of exquisite international and Solomon Islands cuisine, including the island’s own coconut-fed chickens, and freshly-caught ikamata – yellow fin tuna in lime juice – and chilli mud crab.
‘The menu that we have tonight, we’ve practised for two weeks,’ the chef said. The couple’s bungalow sits beside the palm-fringed shore of the 37-acre tropical island in the beautiful Marau Sound lagoon beside the Coral Sea in the Solomon Islands.
Royal entrance: Kate steps off the plane for the next leg of her and William's South Pacific tour
Welcome - Marau style: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are traditionally welcomed to Marau
‘It’s the perfect place for honeymooners... and they’re still in their honeymoon phase,’ Mrs Kimberley said. ‘We’ve had all sorts of requests from VIPs,’ she added. More...
- It's Solomon Islands style for William and Kate as they ditch their designer gear and slip into something more comfortable
- Carnival Queen Kate met by crowd of 70,000 as she and William parade streets in canoe float after arrival in the Solomon Islands
- Woman photographer who snapped topless pictures of Kate is in hiding as Royals head to Paris court to demand she's jailed
- I'm a Royal, keep me in here! All smiles in jungle jaunt but William vows to put people responsible for topless photos behind bars
- Kate's right to be angry. But only King Canute would think privacy laws can hold back this tide
- Irish Daily Star could be closed after its 'indecent' decision to print topless Kate pictures
Today the couple depart for Tuvalu, one of the most remote islands on earth, on the last leg of their tour.
On our way: Prince William chats with an islander as he makes his way through a path of brightly coloured flowers at the Marau landing strip
Pit stop: The Royal couple stop midway along a walk way to watch a group of bare chested women perform a water dance
Canoe to paradise: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge then enjoyed the scenic route to Tavanipupu Island in a traditional war canoe
Outfit change: Kate swapped her yellow Jaeger day dress for a navy blue Mulberry frock for evening while the Duke chose an eye-popping pink shirt...but what's that behind them?
Some-fin fishy going on: The Cambridge's canoe was followed by locals dressed as 'sharks'. Solomon Islanders have traditionally worshipped the shark and when warriors went out on raiding parties to rival islanders, some of the tribesmen would usually swim alongside in shark costumes
The barefoot Royals: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived barefoot in Tavanipupu, Solomon Islands, during the latest leg of their South Pacific tour
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