Prince William and Kate to visit Denmark
Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge plan to travel to Denmark next week to visit a United Nations center that distributes emergency supplies to East Africa.
St. James's Palace officials said Wednesday the brief trip is designed to draw attention to the worsening food shortage crisis in East Africa, which is affecting an estimated 13 million people.
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The Nov. 2 visit will mark the royal couple's first overseas trip since a lengthy sojourn to Canada and the United States during the summer. The British and Danish palaces said Wednesday that the couple will be accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
The UNICEF facility coordinates the distribution of emergency food and medical supplies worldwide, including nutritional treatments for some 320,000 severely malnourished children in East Africa.
The royals are expected to be briefed about the crisis in East Africa before touring the facility and helping to pack supply boxes during their visit.
The couple's visit apparently came on short notice in light of the worsening crisis, according to a press release from St. James Palace. Planning the actual date for the visit also had to take into account Prince William's duties as a search-and-rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.
According to St. James Palace, the royal couple will also pay a private visit to Prince Frederik and Princess Mary before the event. The Danish prince and princess have just returned from a trip to the U.S.
Africa has been of special interest to William, who has traveled there many times. He proposed to Kate Middleton while on vacation in Kenya in 2010.