New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton here at the Hyderabad House on Tuesday afternoon.
Modi welcomed Prince William and wife Kate on the steps of Hyderabad House, once a princely residence and - like many buildings in New Delhi - designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Kate wore a knee-length light blue dress, William a dark suit and tie, while their host - an observant vegetarian - appeared in a traditional white kurta and cream waistcoat.
Indian sources said the four-course lunch featured Indian "veg" and "non-veg" cuisine but, citing protocol, declined to specify the dishes served. Renowned Indian classical musician Rahul Sharma played the santoor - a kind of dulcimer - rounding off his performance with the Beatles classic "Let It Be".
The couple have spent much of their three days in India meeting children and charities that work with them. On Tuesday, they visited a shelter of the Salaam Baalak Trust that provides support and shelter for street kids in Delhi and Mumbai.
But there's been glamour too, with A-list Bollywood film stars led by Shah Rukh Khan and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai turning out on Sunday night for a charity gala in Mumbai.
William and Kate wielded a sword at the British High Commissioner's residence on Monday night to cut a cake to mark the forthcoming 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth.
After paying tribute to his grandmother as "an energetic and dedicated guiding force for her family", William read a message to the Indian people from the Queen.
Striking a lighter note, he concluded: "Now I can report back to Granny that I have done my duty!"
The week-long tour will take the royal couple to see the famed one-horned rhinos in Assam's Kaziranga National Park, on to the isolated kingdom of Bhutan before returning to India on Saturday to visit the Taj Mahal.
Before going indoors, Prince William and his wife were seen strolling on either side of PM Modi, chatting and smiling, before posing for cameras. Kate wore a full-sleeved gauze green dress, while William donned a blue suit.
External affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted:
# Vikas Swarup✔@MEAIndia
A royal summer in Delhi! PM @narendramodi receives the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Hyderabad House, 1:20 PM - 12 Apr 2016
During his visit to Britain in November last year, Queen Elizabeth II had hosted PM Modi to a lunch banquet.
The Royal couple came to New Delhi from Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, where they laid a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial to honor soldiers who had died in World War I. They also paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi, at the Gandhi Smriti.
In the evening, William and Kate attended a garden party to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday, which is on April 21.
From Delhi, the Royal couple will travel to the Kaziranga National Park, home to two-thirds of the world's Indian one-horned rhinos.
William and Kate are traveling without their two children - 2 1/2-year-old Prince George and 11-month-old Princess Charlotte. They had taken George to Australia with them in 2014 on their last royal tour.
They'll also take a one-day trip to neighboring Bhutan at the invitation of the Himalayan kingdom's King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema.
William and Kate will then head back to India, where they'll wind up their tour with a visit to the Taj Mahal, retracing the steps of a 1992 visit to the monument of love by William's mother, the late Princess Diana.
The royal couple will travel to Bhutan for two days beginning April 14. On April 16, they will visit Taj Mahal in northern Agra city before flying back to Britain.
