Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was reunited with The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on a visit to Britain this week.
The Burmese opposition leader made a special request to see Their Royal Highnesses on a tour which also sees her meet political leaders including Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague. The Prince and The Duchess accompanied Ms Suu Kyi into the Garden Room at their official residence in London Clarence House.
The Prince settled on one sofa and The Duchess and Ms Suu Kyi sat on another as The Prince and Ms Suu Kyi began talks which were expected to last 45 minutes.
Ms Suu Kyi met The Prince for the first time at the same location in June last year.
This week’s meeting took place shortly before the christening of three-month-old Prince George at nearby St. James’s Palace.
Ms Suu Kyi has close connections with Britain having read philosophy, politics and economics at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, between 1964 and 1967, before settling in the university city with her late husband Michael Aris, a Tibetan scholar.
His Royal Highness knew Mr Aris and the year the scholar died he became Patron of the Michael Aris Memorial Trust for Tibetan and Himalayan Studies.
The Prince and Ms Suu Kyi have another connection apart from his links to her late husband. Lord Mountbatten, The Prince’s great uncle, and the campaigner’s father, General Aung San, were involved in important events leading up to Burma’s independence from British rule.
At last year’s meeting with The Prince, Ms Suu Kyi planted a tiny black tulip magnolia sapling in the garden. It is near a “spectrum” magnolia planted by the Dalai Lama in 2008. The Prince escorted Ms Suu Kyi into the garden to see the tree, which has made good progress since. That part of her visit had depended on the weather, but the sun was shining brightly which enabled them to brave a strong breeze to inspect the tree.
The Prince told Ms Suu Kyi: “I’m so glad it’s there.” And Ms Suu Kyi replied: “It’s looking very nice.”
He then accompanied her to her chauffeur-driven vehicle, with the pair shaking hands warmly before she went off to her next meeting.
Source: PrinceOfWales.gov.uk
