Sophie tells Nepali women who met King in 1998 that he is ‘still the same’
Sophie tells Nepali women who met King in 1998 that he is ‘still the same’
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The Duchess of Edinburgh told women at a Nepali refuge that the King is “still the same”, as they remembered meeting him more than 25 years ago. On the second day of her royal tour, Sophie spoke to survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence at Maiti Nepal – an organisation Charles also visited in 1998. As she greeted the women who live at the refuge in Kathmandu, Pampha Adhakari and Pusba Thapa said they remembered meeting the King during his visit.
The duchess said: “Well, he’s still the same.”. Sophie was later given a cushion embroidered by Anita Shrestha, who also met Charles when she was a child. The duchess said: “That’s beautiful, you’re very clever. I shall give that to him with your love. He’ll be very pleased to get it.”. Maiti Nepal was founded by Anuradha Koirala in 1993 and has rescued more than 3,600 women and girls, intercepted 52,047 trafficked women and children, and rehabilitated 36,400 people.
In 1998, Ms Koirala met Charles, the then Prince of Wales, during his visit to Nepal. After his return to the UK, he auctioned a painting to raise funds for Maiti Nepal, enabling it to buy additional land and to expand the safe home. Earlier in the site tour, Sophie was shown the women’s kitchen facilities by Ms Koirala and, when told that peanut butter is one of their favourites, said: “I used to eat that as a child.”.
The duchess observed music lessons at the Mother Teresa School, which is part of the Maiti Nepal site, and watched a traditional dance performance by the children. Sophie began the second day of the official royal tour at the Bhaktapur Hospital Maternity Wing, where she met mothers and congratulated them on their newborn babies. She then travelled to Dwarika’s Hotel for a lunch with Nepali women’s rights activists, dining on local dishes including momo (steamed dumplings), thali and sikarni (yogurt with cinnamon and honey).
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh arrived in Nepal on Tuesday for a six-day stay to celebrate the South Asian country’s close ties with the UK. On the second day of the tour, Edward met young Nepalis taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award before going to the Unesco World Heritage Site in Bhaktapur, which was visited in 2016 by the Duke of Sussex after it was damaged extensively in the 2015 earthquake.
