Prince Charles visits the Central hills of Sri Lanka
Prince Charles, also known as the Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay and most famously the Prince of Wales, was born on November 14, 1948, as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. This November the Prince visited Sri Lanka exactly on his 65th birthday for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Colombo. This is his third visit to our country since he visited
Sri Lanka before in 1998 as the Chief Guest for the 50th Independence Day celebrations and again in 2005 to see the areas affected by the Boxing Day tsunami which occurred in 2004.
Two days after visiting Sri Lanka this time, Prince Charles took a trip to the central hills of Sri Lanka, where he visited Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. After worshipping Buddha’s Tooth Relic at the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, he walked among the exotic plants of Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, proving his love for gardening. Next was his visit to Nuwara Eliya where he arrived by helicopter.
First, the Prince brightened up the day for some differently abled children as he danced the ‘Hokey Cokey’ with them in their music class. He then took a visit to a tea estate where he enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea brewed from tea leaves specially plucked from the bush that his father Prince Phillip planted during his visit to Sri Lanka in 1954. Next was his visit to the 172-year old Mackwoods Labukelle Tea Estate where a scrumptious birthday cake was waiting for him.
Prince Charles was warmly welcomed by His Excellency
Dr. Chris Nonis, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Britian, to the wonderful ceremony organized at the Mackwoods Tea Centre. The Prince who arrived at about 3.00 in the afternoon, was welcomed by the traditional beating of the Kandyan ‘magul bera.’ We got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to say hello to the Crown Prince of England and shaking hands with him.
After cutting the birthday cake while everyone sang the birthday song, the Prince was escorted to the tea factory where he tried different types of tea. He was then gifted with a silver plated box containing two tea caddies – one with ‘Prince of Wales’ blend and the other with ‘Prince George’ blend which were newly introduced that day. The Prince then declared open the new Mackwoods Tea Museum.
After a tour of the new building, it was finally time for goodbyes. As he got into his shiny black car, Prince Charles waved goodbye to all of us with a friendly smile on his face. We all watched as the car sped along the bendy roadways set among the brilliant green tea fields, waving to the Prince till we lost sight of the car.