BICOM

The Duke of Cambridge begun his third and final day in Israel with a visit to the Old City in Jerusalem, where he prayed at the Western Wall.

Prince William began his visit with a lookout of the Old City from the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. He then visited the nearby gravesite of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice, whose last wishes were to have her remains buried in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene above the Garden of Gethsemane. She is recognised by Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial as a member of the Righteous Among the Nations and by the British government as a “Hero of the Holocaust” for rescuing a Greek Jewish family during the Holocaust.

Prince William then travelled to the Old City and visited the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, known as the Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) in Arabic. The Duke then prayed at the Western Wall, the only remaining support wall built by King Herod in 20 BCE during an expansion of the Second Temple. The Prince also signed the guest book and placed a note in the wall.

According to media reports, Prince William is expected to also visit the Church of Saint John the Baptist, located in the small pastoral village of Ein Kerem on the western slopes of Jerusalem, before departing back to the UK. The location is believed to be the place where John the Baptist was born in his family home.

The five-day tour has been carefully orchestrated as a non-political event, and the Duke has been sensitive in his words and actions not to stoke controversy as he met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and toured the region’s various historic sites.