Prince William ‘to visit Kotel and Temple Mount’ on final leg of Middle East tour
Reports in Israeli media suggest religious sites will be included in packed four-day itinerary
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
Prince William is to visit the Kotel on the final leg of his tour of the Middle East, according to reports in Israeli media.
The Duke of Cambridge will also travel to the Temple Mount, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and visit Church of Saint John the Baptist, Ynet claimed.
He will arrive in Jordan next weekend before undertaking the first ever official royal trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. While much of his packed itinerary was announced on Monday, Palace officials said only that he would view the Old City from a viewing platform on the Mount of Olives as part of his itinerary in the territories, before the final part of the tour which would enable His Royal Highness to understand more about the religions of the region.
The Kotel is not normally included in the visits of foreign office ministers, and President Trump recently broke with US presidential tradition by visiting the site in a ‘private’ capacity.
The Prince, who is second in line to the throne, will also visit Yad Vashem, play football with Arab and Jewish children and meet the prime minister of Israel and presidents of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He is due to make a keynote speech during a reception at the residence of British ambassador David Quarrey.
In Jordan, he will be building on the long-standing relationship between the two Royal families.
A spokesman said it was a “privilege” for him to undertake the first official Royal visit and he was looking forward to meeting “as many people from as many different walks of life as possible”.
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