Prince William And Kate Middleton Go Barefoot To Pay Respects To Gandhi, India’s Founding Father

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal trip to India has been marked with visits to several interesting locations and tourist hotspots. One of the significant tour stops that the royal couple recently made was when they paid their respects to India’s founding father, Mahatma Gandhi.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Birla House, where Gandhi is said to have spent the final 144 days of his life, prior to his assassination in January 1948. The property has been turned into a memorial and a museum in honor of Gandhi.

The royal couple was also greeted by a group of schoolchildren during their visit, according to People magazine. These children were students from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Mehta Vidyalaya School. They serenaded the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge while the two strolled along the memorial garden. William and Kate also removed their shoes to pay their respects to Gandhi. The royal couple even sprinkled pink rose petals at the Martyr’s Column memorial.

William and Kate were also said to have followed a trail of concrete steps at Gandhi’s former home, Telegraph reported. The concrete steps marked the final steps that Gandhi took on the day he was shot to death. The path started from Gandhi’s bedroom, up to the actual spot in the garden were a Hindu nationalist zealot killed him.

Apart from paying their respects at Gandhi’s memorial, the royal couple also toured the museum and was even shown Gandhi’s simple room. Photographs and paintings of the late Indian leader were also presented to William and Kate. The two were told snippets from Gandhi’s life. They even discovered that Gandhi learned to play the violin in London during his student days.

Meanwhile, the royal couple is nearing the final leg of their trip to India. William and Kate will then travel to Bhutan before heading back home to Britain.