Opening comments by Mr. Scott Furssedonn-Wood, Deputy Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall regarding Their Royal Highnesses' upcoming visit to the Singapore, Malaysia and India

At the request of the British Government, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Singapore, Malaysia and India between 30th October and 9th November. Their Royal Highnesses are delighted to be returning to India and to be visiting Singapore and Malaysia for the first time together.

Across the ten days of the Tour, Their Royal Highnesses will undertake almost 50 engagements that showcase the breadth and depth of the United Kingdom's relationship with these key Commonwealth partners, in advance of the Commonwealth Summit in London next April. 

The visit will highlight shared priorities such as celebrating community, championing cultural diversity and business innovation. There will also be a particular focus on education and youth opportunity; and on sustainability and conservation. 

Clarence House has worked closely with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the British High Commissions in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi, and with the host governments in each country, to design a programme that demonstrates the strength and significance of these relationships, and which reflect Their Royal Highnesses' deep personal interest and expertise on a range of issues. 

Their Royal Highnesses' visit to Malaysia and Singapore will be the most high level British visits to those countries since the State Visits undertaken by Her Majesty' The Queen in 1998 and 2006 respectively. Their Royal Highnesses last visited India together in 2013. 

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall's official programme will begin in Singapore on 31st October, where they will receive an official welcome from President Halimah Yacob at a ceremony at the Istana,- the official residence of the President of Singapore. Their Royal Highnesses will also meet the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and will be the Guests of Honour at an official dinner. 

His Royal Highness will meet leaders from Singapore’s ten national religions to hear how Singapore's diverse ethnic and religious communities work together to address shared challenges. He will later meet representatives of British companies working in Singapore to see how the UK-Singapore innovation partnership is promoting prosperity in both countries. Their Royal Highnesses will together attend a wreath-laying ceremony to acknowledge the sacrifices made by British, Singaporean and Commonwealth personnel during the two World Wars and other conflicts. Later, there will be an opportunity to celebrate the vibrant cultural collaboration between the UK and Singapore and the work of the British Council, of which The Prince is Vice-Patron, in support of that relationship. 

The Duchess of Cornwall will also visit a school to meet you

ng people aspiring to enter The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, which is the world’s oldest schools’ international writing competition and has been managed by The Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883. The Duchess of Cornwall, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, will present certificates to the 2017 winners and runners up, from across the Commonwealth, at an Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace later in November.

On 3rd November, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will start their visit to Malaysia in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Their Royal Highnesses will be received at the Istana Negara – the National Palace, and will later be Guests of Honour at a Gala Dinner to celebrate sixty years of Malaysian Independence and sixty years of diplomatic ties between our countries. The dinner will be attended by a large number of Malaysian dignitaries and senior figures from business, the arts, and the media, who contribute to the vibrant relationship between our countries. The programme also includes a celebration of the Commonwealth in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Summit in London next year.

The Prince and The Duchess will visit the State of Sarawak on the Island of Borneo, where they will meet representatives Sarawak's diverse indigenous communities. His Royal Highness will later see first-hand the work being done to preserve the region's extraordinary biodiversity and to protect some its most endangered species.  The Duchess of Cornwall will meet the team at Purple Lily, a non-Governmental Organisation that works to empower disadvantaged women and young girls by providing life-skills training and financial education. 

Their Royal Highnesses will conclude their visit to Malaysia in the state of Penang, and its historic capital of Georgetown, named after King George III. The Prince and The Duchess will have the opportunity to meet members of the different religious communities who live side-by-side in the historic city centre. Their Royal Highnesses will also experience the rich cultural heritage of Georgetown and its sensitively historic buildings which have earned it UNESCO designation as a World Heritage site. 

His Royal Highness will also visit the Royal Malaysian Airforce base at Butterworth to showcase the vital collaboration in the region between the armed forces of the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. 

On 8th November, The Prince and The Duchess will arrive in India, where the centrepiece will be a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later, in Delhi, Their Royal Highnesses will undertake a number of engagements to underscore the strength and vitality of the UK-India relationship and the rich exchange of ideas between our two countries. In particular, there will be an opportunity to celebrate the vibrancy of our cultural collaboration in this, the UK-India Year of Culture.