St Mary's Cathedral hosts visit by British royalty after 19 years

KUALA LUMPUR: After 19 years, the St Mary's Cathedral near Dataran Merdeka in Jalan Raja today hosted a visit by British royalty.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the Anglican church as part of their ongoing seven-day maiden visit to Malaysia.
The last time that the church hosted a visit by a member of British royalty was in 1998, when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II paid a visit when she attended the official opening of the 16th Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.
The Queen had also visited the church in 1989 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Prince Charles and Camilla arrived at the church at 10.10am in a heavy drizzle and were welcomed by Archbishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing.
Their Royal Highnesses were accompanied by minister-in-attendance Datuk Seri S. K. Devamany, who is deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
The royal visitors attended the 40-minute church service and then met church members and several staff of the British High Commission who were also present.
Prince Charles and Camilla signed the guest book before leaving.
Archbishop Ng told Bernama later that the church members were delighted and excited over the visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
He said he showed Prince Charles the plaque commemorating the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1989 and he said he remembered that visit.
The visit of Prince Charles and Camilla to Malaysia is part of a 11-day tour of Their Royal Highnesses to Singapore, Malaysia and India from Oct 30 to Nov 9. — Bernama