Royal grace under fire.
Friday probably wasn’t the easiest day for the Duchess of Cambridge — but she wasn’t about to let the strain show.
Kate Middleton and Prince William pressed on with their Diamond Jubilee Royal Tour of Southeast Asia on Friday after learning that French tabloid magazine Closer had published topless photos of the Duchess, 30, during a recent vacation in France.
With Prince William, 30, at her side, the Duchess arrived at the Asyakirin Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday morning in what was their first visit to any mosque in the world.
For the landmark moment, Kate wore an off-white Belulah dress, a custom veil, nude tights and her go-to LK Bennett heels, which she removed before entering the mosque itself. Looking especially radiant and serene in photos from the visit, the Duchess brought to mind one of the most iconic snaps of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana — who similarly donned a traditional headdress for a visit to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan in June, 1996 (just one year before her tragic death in a car accident in Paris at age 36).
Diana’s memory was invoked in the royal couple’s official statement about the nude scandal. “The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so,” the statement read.
But that upset was not on display Friday morning.
“It’s so peaceful in here,” Middleton commented during their barefoot, 20-minute tour of the mosque. “It’s all so impressive!”
“It was an honor to meet them,” head division development manager Datin Faudziah Ibrahim said after the visit.
“Catherine asked me so many questions that I struggle to even remember them all now. She really liked it when I spoke about how families come together during Ramadan,” he continued. “She really liked that. She said family is very important.”
As for her modest but stunning ensemble? “The Duchess looked beautiful and very appropriate in her outfit. It was a great choice.”
