AGRA: The Duke and Duc­hess of Cambridge invoked nostalgia on Saturday as they sat and smiled for photos on the same marble bench in front of the Taj Mahal where Prince Will­iam’s late mother, Princess Diana, had posed alone for a memorable 1992 photo. Winding down their week-long royal tour of India and Bhutan, William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, were briefed by a guide as they entered the compound that houses the iconic monument to love.

William and Kate’s visit to the Taj Mahal was filled with symbolism.

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn to Diana and the lonely figure she cut in front of the white marble mausoleum built by a Mughal emperor to entomb his beloved wife.

Newspaper headlines had suggested at the time that Dia­na was delivering a hidden message about the end of her marriage to Prince Charles. Four years later, the two announced their divorce.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2016