The future Prince and Princess of Wales tackled a tough hike in the Himalayas during their royal tour of Bhutan
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Kate Middleton hikes to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest monastery, in Bhutan on April 15, 2016. Photo: Samir Hussein/Pool/WireImage
Kate Middleton and Prince William’s tour of India and Bhutan eight years ago included a five-hour hike to a historic monastery, but the future Princess of Wales stayed camera-ready with a little backup!
In April 2016, the future Prince and Princess of Wales embarked on a week-long tour to the Asian countries, which included a grueling hike to the Tiger Nest monastery, a sacred Buddhist site in the Himalayas. The royal couple crossed paths with a group of trekkers on their way up, and one said “there wasn’t a single trail of sweat” on William or Kate.
That may have been because Kate brought along a special entourage for the outing: her longtime hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker and her personal assistant-turned-stylist Natasha Archer joined the royal couple. The glam team likely made sure that Kate was camera-ready with a few touchups before she greeted the press during the hike.
Responsible for liaising with designers and calling in all of Kate’s outfits and accessories, Archer has helped style Kate for nearly a decade. Cook Tucker, meanwhile, has been on the royal scene since at least 2013 and visited Kate in the hospital shortly after the birth of Prince George to do her hair before she greeted the world’s press on the steps of Lindo Wing at London’s St. Mary’s Hospital. Both style and beauty pros have joined the Princess of Wales on official trips and tours around the world over the years.
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The future Prince and Princess of Wales had a sporty visit to Asia in 2016, from taking turns at archery in Bhutan and watching a game of cricket in India, in addition to their big hike.
During their trek in the Himalayas, Prince William quipped, “Easy!” before the couple posed for a brief photo call on the spiritual spot with a view.
“So far, so good. Stunning,” William said.
On the way up to the monastery, otherwise known as Paro Taktsang, the royals stopped to talk to three hikers from California who were returning down from the mountain.
“They were pretty altogether,” Lauren McKennan from San Francisco told reporters. “There wasn’t a single trail of sweat. They stopped to talk to us for three to five minutes and were absolutely charming.”
“They asked us how long we had been here and talked about how lovely the weather was,” added Alex Willmore from Oakland. “They said how rainy it had been when they were doing the archery and how glad they were doing the trek today.”
“We asked for a photograph they just laughed and wouldn’t do it,” Willmore added. “But they were absolutely charming, very cool, very nice. They kept on saying how beautiful it was.”
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Prince William and Kate Middleton on their hike to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest monastery, in Bhutan on April 15, 2016.
UK Press Pool/Getty
Built in 1692, there is a cave inside the temple with spiritual significance: 8th-century Buddhist deity Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan, is said to have flown to the cave atop a tigress before fasting for 90 days to battle the demons that inhabited the valley. The cave itself is opened just once a year in a special ceremony.
“It is a magical place that The Duke and Duchess [of Cambridge] are thrilled to be visiting,” a royal spokesman said at the time, adding that the trek “will allow them to get a real sense of the natural and spiritual beauty of the country.”
Prince William and Princess Kate followed in the future King Charles’ footsteps with the Himalayan trek to Tiger’s Nest, as then-Prince Charles walked some of the summit in 1998.
“It is very good for Kate and William come here,” Sonam Penjor of the Bhutan information department told reporters at the time. “The United Kingdom and Bhutan already had a relationship before Prince Charles came here before in 1988, but he only make it to the cafeteria, the halfway point.”
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“So he took some nice shots, but he was not able to come to this point. Maybe the altitude affected him,” he added. “I think his son and daughter-in-law wanted to beat him!”
“They wanted to recapture his father’s memories but go further. And maybe later George and Charlotte will come to follow in their parents’ footsteps,” the local said, referring to Prince William and Princess Kate’s children Prince George, now 10, and Princess Charlotte, now 8 — while 5-year-old Prince Louis wasn’t born yet.
The day before they hit the trail, the couple met King Jigme and Queen Jetsun of Bhutan, who are playfully nicknamed the “Will and Kate of the Himalayas.” The British royals spent time with the Dragon King, 44, and Queen, 33, who both studied in England before acceding to the throne in the small nation.
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On April 16, it was confirmed that Prince William, 41, will return to royal duties for the first time since Princess Kate, 42, announced her cancer diagnosis in March. On April 18, the Prince of Wales will highlight the work of community and environmental organizations in southwest London and Surrey.
When the Princess of Wales made the announcement about her health on March 22, sources told PEOPLE that William would return to public royal duties after Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis returned to school following an Easter holiday break in a measured way, tempered by the needs of their family.
