A year after their Pakistan visit: Prince William, Kate have fun with Islamabad students

ISLAMABAD: British royal family members Duke of Cambridge Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton on Friday made a video call to students at the Islamabad Model College for Girls and the SOS Children's Village in Lahore, marking one year since their visit to Pakistan, foreign media reported.

According to the Duke and Duchess’ official Twitter account, the two had a chat with students at the Islamabad Model College about how they are coping during the coronavirus pandemic.

The royal couple found a fun and unexpected way to reconnect with a group of schoolgirls by playing a game of Pictionary! The couple spoke with the girls and their teachers one year after their historic visit to the country.

During the reunion with Islamabad Model College for Girls, Kate praised the teachers for "doing an amazing job" during the coronavirus pandemic. "You are a real lifeline for families out there," she added.

The couple, both 38, were then tasked with answering questions in a game of Pictionary. After first thinking a diagram was a wedding, Kate — who wore a traditional Pakistani-styled jacket for the occasion — eventually guessed the first question correctly when she said a birthday. As William squinted at the screen to see the drawings, he complimented the girls on their skills, with one of them asking if they enjoyed drawing.

"Yes, definitely, we both like a little bit of drawing," William said. "Catherine is very good, I'm really bad." Kate then touched her husband's arm and added, "You don't practice enough!"

William then guessed the correct answer to a description of a game of cricket that harkened back to one of the couple's memorable moment in the week-long visit when they played the national game with some young people.

During their visit to the government-run school in Islamabad last year, William and Kate met pupils from kindergarten level to the sixth grade, and heard more about how they are benefitting from the Teach for Pakistan programme, which is modeled after the UK’s successful ‘Teach First’ scheme.

They also spoke with a special group at SOS Children’s Village in Lahore. During the call, the royal couple was told how the village has helped to teach the children how to combat the spread of COVID-19 through sessions led by doctors and medical staff. They also spoke about the support given for the mental health of the staff and children throughout the pandemic. Some of the village’s children also showed off some of the artwork, including drawings and friendship bracelets that they had created about their memories of the visit last year.

Kate and William were clearly taken by SOS Children's Village, which provides a home and family structure to over 150 young girls and boys, and after their initial visit last year they returned later in the tour. The couple took part in cricket and arts and crafts, and joined in a birthday party for one of the children supported by the village.

The tour of the country last year was a memorable one, with Kate calling it "fantastic" and "really special." On Friday, Kensington Palace also teased a new video by showing off a new version of the couple's stunning black-and-white arrival into Islamabad, via their social media channels.