Prince William Recreates One of Kate Middleton's Childhood Photos

Talk about one royal full-circle moment for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

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. 

"My wife Catherine is very sorry she cannot be here with me so soon after the birth of our son Louis, but her family remembers very fondly the almost three years she spent here as a child

when her father worked for British Airways in Amman," he told attendees at a reception at the British ambassador to Jordan's residence in Amman on Sunday. 

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. 

During a visit to the Al Quds College, the British royal will mingle with young Jordanians and Syrian refugees enrolled in its media school as part of a partnership with Middlesex University. He will cap off the leg of the trip with Jordanian Air Ambulance crews at Marka airport, where he will be able to check out their helicopters. 

 

Meanwhile, his famous wife and three children remain back in England. As Prince William mentioned, Middleton gave birth to the couple's second son and third child together, Prince Louis, in late April. The newborn is scheduled to be baptized on July 9, just in time for William's return.