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PHOTOS: Duchess Kate’s striking resemblance to Princess Diana in Pakistan will take you back

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Prince William and Duchess Kate in Pakistan (Photo: Getty Images)
Prince William and Duchess Kate in Pakistan (Photo: Getty Images)

Cape Town – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kicked off their royal tour of Pakistan on Monday – but it was Kate’s outfit that caught everyone’s attention when she channelled the late Princess Diana.

Their Royal Highnesses are undertaking their "most complex" tour yet, with their five-day stay in Pakistan. According to Vogue, the royal couple touched down at the Pakistani Air Force Base Nur Khan in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Punjab, where William wore a suit with a royal blue tie while Kate wore what looked to be a long dress and pants, similar to the traditional shalwar kameez, also know as a churidar or kurta.

Princess Diana wore a similar outfit, complete with the buttons on the sleeves, when she visited a hospital in Lahore in 1996 – and the resemblance is striking.

SEE THE PHOTOS HERE:

princess diana, kate middleton

(1996 and 2019: Princess Diana and Duchess Kate. Photo: Getty Images.)

Princess Diana first set her sights on Pakistan when she happened to come across the prime minister, Benazir Bhutto in the royal box at Wimbledon. She eventually accepted the invitation, and although she travelled to Pakistan many times, it was her trip just before her tragic death that made headlines.

Princess Diana was famously pictured holding a blind and gravely sick seven-year-old boy at a cancer hospital who had weeks to live.

princess diana

(1996: Princess Diana on her last visit to Pakistan. Photo: Getty Images.)

According to royal correspondent, Richard Kay, she kept those photos as a representation of everything she hoped to be: compassionate – and willing to break down barriers for the good of humanity.

Similar to Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s tour of Africa, Prince William and Duchess Kate are strengthening the relationship between Britain and Pakistan while focusing on the country today as a "dynamic, aspirational and forward-looking nation", but William is also expected to follow in his mother’s footsteps in the causes he champions.

prince william, kate middleton

(ENGAGEMENT ONE: Prince William and Duchess Kate visit Islamabad Model College for Girls. Photo: Getty Images.)

Not much else is known about their schedule apart from the statement they realised, but their first stop did see Kate wearing a traditional royal blue shalwar kameez with a dupatta when they visited the Islamabad Model College for Girls, and later today Prince William is expected to see President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, before meeting with former cricket player, and current Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.

According to People, the meeting will be particularly poignant because Imran knew Diana well and spent time with her on her 1996 visit months before her death.

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