Prince William and Kate Middleton Meet with Princess Diana's Friend, Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan
Just a few weeks ago during the Sussexes' tour of southern Africa, Prince Harry poignantly paid tribute to his late mother by championing the eradication of landmines in Angola. He worked with the Halo Trust, just as Diana did, to raise awareness of the cause that was so important to the late Princess of Wales in the months before her tragic death.
Now, as Prince William and his wife Kate embark on their own royal tour of Pakistan, which has been described by the couple's spokesperson as their "most complex" to date, they too are acknowledging Princess Diana, by meeting with her friend, Prime Minister Imran Khan.
This morning, the Cambridges visited Khan, a former cricket player-turned-politician who became Prime Minister last year, at his official residence in Islamabad. Khan and his then-wife Jemima Goldsmith previously hosted Diana during a trip to the country in 1997.
In the years since, Khan has revealed that he helped facilitate Diana's relationship with Pakistani heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan, a man which he says she "wanted to marry," in the months before her tragic death.
"It was clear that she was very deeply in love with Dr Hasnat," Khan shared in a TV documentary about the Princess in 2000.
But today, it seems Khan's conversation with William and Kate (at least what was reportedly publicly) was more focused on politics.
“When I went with my mother to see a test match my cousin was playing, and he scored a century [more than 100 runs], I told my mother I wanted to be a test cricketer,” Khan said, reflecting on his path from athlete to politician. “I never realized how difficult it was to eventually become one. Similarly, when I told you that I wanted to succeed [as Prime Minister], I didn’t realize it would take me 22 years.”
In addition to their meeting with Khan today, the Cambridges also had an audience with the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, at the Presidential Palace in Islamabad, and visited several educational initiatives in the region. While their itinerary is largely being kept under-wraps, they'll be in Pakistan all week, returning home on Friday.
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