Britain’s Prince William to visit China

OHMYGOSSIP — Britain’s Prince William will visit China next year, though it is not yet known whether his wife Duchess Catherine will join him.

The 32-year-old prince is expected to travel to the republic in 2015 although it is not yet known whether his wife Duchess Catherine – who is due to give birth to their second child in April – will join him on the trip.

The proposed tour has not yet been confirmed by Kensington Palace officials, but it is seen as an opportunity to improve diplomatic relations.

In 1986, William’s grandparents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip undertook a tour of China.

However, the visit was marred by the Duke of Edinburgh famously overheard describing Beijing as “ghastly” and telling British exchange students: “If you stay here much longer you’ll all be slitty-eyed.”

William’s father, Prince Charles, has never made an official visit to the republic but went to Hong Kong in 1997 for the handover ceremony of the former British colony.

Charles has had a famously rocky relationship with China in the past, made worse when a leaked diary revealed he had described the country’s communist leaders as “appalling old waxworks”.

In 1999, Charles failed to attend a banquet for then-president Jiang Zemin and was accused of boycotting the Chinese state visit to the UK.

Six years later, the prince was out of the country in the US when former president Hu Jintao came to Britain on another state visit.

However, in 2009, the 66-year-old heir opened The Prince’s Charities Foundation (China) in Beijing, his first charity to be based in China.

The same year, he also undertook a private meeting with Mr. Hu in London.