Live updates: follow the latest news on Prince William's visit to the UAE
As the UK's Prince William prepares for a visit to Dubai on Thursday, pupils in the city are keen to find out what life as a royal is really like.
From his favourite food to his favourite family member, children from Victory Heights Primary School have some burning questions for the Duke of Cambridge.
When The National visited on Tuesday, pupils aged seven to 11 proudly waved the UK flag and gave their best impression of Queen Elizabeth II’s wave to celebrate the royal visit happening later this week.
Do you have the Deliveroo app on your phone?
What Spencer Davies,
Year 6, Victory Heights Primary, would ask Prince William if he met him
Sidestepping the usual focus on politics and current affairs — often the topic of discussion on official visits — the pupils said they would like to tell Prince William what was on their minds so he could satisfy their curiosity.
Spencer Davies, a Year 6 pupil from the UK, was keen to know what the duke's junk food of choice was. “Do you have the Deliveroo app on your phone and what is your favourite takeaway?” he asked.
Seven-year-old Rocoo Ricco and Christopher Allen, 11, said they would like to ask Prince William who his favourite family member was and whether a trip to Burj Khalifa was on his to-do list.
Although the children will not personally meet the duke during his first visit to Dubai, assistant head teacher Robert McCall said they always celebrated British-themed observance days and anniversaries.
“We always like to make an event of things like royal visits or royal celebrations as we’re a British school and it’s a good way to weave parts of British history into the curriculum,” he said.
“Every month we focus on oracy, so when we heard about Prince William’s visit we started looking at elocution and pronunciation in class.
“In general, we speak to friends and family more casually, but when we asked the children to pose some questions to the duke, we encouraged them to ask it in a formal way, like they were speaking face-to-face with a member of the royal family.”
Visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai will have a chance to see Prince William during his first official trip to the Emirates this week.
The world's fair will celebrate the UK's day of celebrations on Thursday, where the duke will join in on a number of events and celebrations that highlight talent from across the UK.
No special tickets are required to enter Expo 2020 Dubai on the day and the site will be open to the public as usual.
Prince William in Kuwait — in pictures
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Celtic Prince, David Liska (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Grand Argentier, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
Winner: Arch Gold, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Ibn Malik, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
10pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
