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UK royals William and Kate kick off India tour

April 10, 2016

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have started their visit to India by meeting with impoverished children and playing cricket in Mumbai. The royal couple are set to meet with Prime Minister Modi later this week.

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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge lay a wreath at Taj Hotel, scene of Mumbai terror attacks
Image: Getty Images/M. Cuthbert

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate began their first royal visit to India by laying a wreath to victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks at the city's Taj Mahal Palace hotel on Sunday.

They also spoke with hotel staff who shielded guests during the attacks which killed 166 people after 10 gunmen targeted several locations across the city.

Later on Sunday, William and Kate met with three charities working with children and played a round of cricket at the Oval Maidan. They also talked with Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Dilip Vengsarkar.

The couple also met with impoverished children from Mumbai's slums before finishing their first night in Mumbai at a charity ball with Bollywood celebrities and business leaders.

The royal couple's week-long tour through India will include lunch in New Delhi with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a visit to Kaziranga National Park in Assam state. The pair will also spend one day in the Himalayan nation of Bhutan.

"This will be one of the most ambitious tours their Royal Highnesses have ever undertaken and promises to be the most colorful tour to date," British High Commissioner (ambassador) to India Dominic Asquith said in a statement Friday.

rs/jlw (AP, AFP, Reuters)