EVERYONE is thrilled whenever members of the fabled British royal family come a-calling.

Malaysia has had the privilege of hosting Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as their children Prince Andrew and Princess Anne, in the past during their official visits.

On each trip, the royals were taken all over the country, to get a glimpse of how their former colony has developed as a nation.

Among the musts for them were visits to the Istana Negara and Seri Perdana – the official residences of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Prime Minister respectively. Their stop here would usually be marked with a lunch or dinner.

During their 16-day state visit in 1972, the Queen and Prince Philip paid tribute to the fallen heroes at the National Monument before taking a stroll and interacting with the local folks around Kuala Lumpur. The Queen had also tried her hand at tapping rubber at the Rubber Research Institute’s Experimental Station in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, and the prince mingled with the locals at Pantai Cinta Berahi in Kelantan.

The Queen visited the Petronas Twin Towers in 1998, when she was in town for the closing ceremony of the 16th Commonwealth Games, and next week her grandson Prince William and his wife Catherine are scheduled to make an appearance there as well.

Traditionally, the British High Commission would host a lunch or dinner in their honour.

The royals had also been to the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur and visited orphanages and hospitals. Queen Elizabeth had spent some time with the children of the Shelter Home in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, during her visit in 1998.

That same visit, the Queen and Prince Philip also made a stop at the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin in Kuala Lumpur where they attended an evensong service.

Kicking it

It is no secret that Prince William is into sports and loves to try the local games every time he’s in a new country. As much as we love football as a nation, let’s get the prince to go for a different ball game.

What about sepak takraw? Yes, that would really be a cool game for William to try ... it’s local, it’s easy (he just has to stretch his legs a little before playing) and the rules are pretty simple.

Just kick it: Let’s hope that Will remembers to stretch his hamstrings before playing a game of sepak takraw.

The game (also popular in other South-East Asian countries) has been around for ages and you just need three players on each side of the net.

We’re sure Will would be able to pick two guys from his entourage to go against our local boys. Sounds like a game you’d pay to watch, yes?

Balancing act

WHILE her hubby is having a ball of a time playing sepak takraw, what could keep dainty Kate occupied? Batu Seremban, of course! Let’s teach Kate how to play this homegrown game, which is slowly making a comeback in schools across the country.

Maybe the Duchess can help spread the popularity of Batu Seremban when she returns to Britain. Think the Queen might be interested in this game?

Celebs have their say

Royal dinners, official teas, cultural walkabouts – this is pretty standard fare for visiting princes and princesses.

But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge aren’t standard folk. William and Catherine are, as David Tennant would say, “up to the minute, constantly changing, ever evolving, always on trend, unstructured yet tailored, clean lines, sharp silhouette, but with a wiff of the shambolic rock star”.

So to honour that, The Daily Chilli asked a bunch of Malaysian celebrities and famous personalities for their suggestions of what Will and Kate should do and where to go to have the quintessential Malaysian experience. Visit dailychilli.com this weekend to see what they had to say.

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