Talk about a full-circle moment!
More than a decade ago, a 4-year-old Kate Middleton posed on rocks in Jerash with her younger sister Pippa Middleton and father Michael Middleton. On Monday, her royal husband returned to the site with a special tribute to his wife of seven years.
Kicking off his five-day royal tour of the Middle East, Prince William touched down in Amman, Jordan on Sunday and was swiftly on the move as his day of engagements began. One of the events on the schedule was a visit to the Roman ruins, where he posed much like his life partner did all those years ago.
In 1984, Middleton's family moved to Jordan when she was 2 years old and her sister just a baby. At the time, Michael was a British Airways manager and had been relocated to Amman for work. The future Duchess of Cambridge attended an English language nursery school until the family returned to their native Berkshire in 1986.
Upon visiting the ruins, the childhood photograph of the trio was also on display, solidifying the twinning moment. "He was very surprised when he saw the photo. He did not expect that," Samia Khouri, Director of Museums at Jordan's Department of Antiquities, told reporters. "But that's why he was here, because he wanted to take a photo at the same spot where Kate was photographed."
Before flying to Israel, Prince William is scheduled to travel to the north of Jordan for a visit to a new Quick Reaction Force base to watch pre-deployment drills and meet with British officers attached to the Jordanian armed forces. He will also meet with women who have helped build and have benefitted from the Dar Na'mah Center, a project of the Princess Taghrid Institute, which works to support women of all ages develop their own livelihoods and support their families and communities.