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Prince William concludes Middle East visit in Jerusalem

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Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, completed his historic Middle East tour yesterday by visiting the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Duke began his day at the grave of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice, in the Russian Orthodox Church on the Mount of Olives.

He then travelled to the Western Wall, the holiest site that Jews have access to, accompanied by the British Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis. The Prince stood at the Wall for a moment of silent contemplation and placed a note in a hole in the wall as many visitors do. He wrote a message in the guest book that said: “May the God of peace bless this region and all the world with peace”.

Prince William then visited the Temple Mount, (Haram al-Sharif) one of the holiest sites in Islam. He ended his private tour of the Old City at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered by many Christians to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. Whilst walking around the Old City, The Duke of Cambridge also met with traders and local residents.

The Jerusalem tour was the fifth day of Prince William’s visit, the first official Royal visit to Israel and to the Palestinian Authority. The Duke landed in Jordan on Sunday. He met with Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein and toured the ancient Roman city of Jerash. In Israel, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuvin Rivlin, as well as visiting Jewish-Arab coexistence projects, Tel Aviv beach, meeting Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and the Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank.