The Princess of Wales saw Indian dancing, tasted chai and visited family businesses on Leicester’s ‘Golden Mile’.

Princess Kate is in Leicester today (Image: AP/Shutterstock)

The Princess of Wales was welcomed to Leicester with a colourful performance by Bollywood dancer as well as huge cheers and honking car horns today. Dressed in an elegant all-cream ensemble, Catherine surprised shoppers as she walked down the city’s famous Golden Mile without road closures or any barriers in place.

“Welcome to Leicester, Ma’am”, one shopper told the princess, while an elderly woman gave her a Hindu blessing. She later visited her first Hindu temple in Britain where she joined in with traditional dancing and made an offering of milk.

Catherine was presented with a garland of pearls and roses as she arrived at a community centre in bright sunshine on Thursday. As the beautiful garland was placed over her head, she was told that this week they are celebrating Holi, the Indian festival of colours, love and spring. She thanked her host for the rose necklace, clasping her hands together in the traditional Namaste gesture.

Princess Kate visited Leicestershire today (Image: AP)

Catherine watched in awe as Bollywood dancers performed a routine to loud, upbeat music, with one dancer handing her a rose.

She told them that her three children would “love” their dance moves. Her daughter, Princess Charlotte, 10, loves dancing, especially ballet and tap.

“You must be super fit because it’s super energetic,” the princess said afterwards. “My children would love that, they love their dancing. Louis would love your dance routine.”

Upon arrival at the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, an organisation which helps more than 1,000 people a week through its range of community dance programmes, the princess was introduced to Aakrash Odedra, the centre’s founder.

Adorning Catherine with the red garland, he later said he had made it specially for her, adding there was “no better way to welcome a guest than to garnish their soul with flowers”.

The Princess of Wales visits Leicester to celebrate their culture, community and heritage (Image: PA)

Odedra, an award-winning choreographer and Bollywood dancer, founded the company in 2011 with a mission to create “a happier and healthier society through dance and the arts”.

Last year, the dance troupe joined forces with Move Against Cancer to offer Bollywood movement lessons to those recovering from cancer. The princess was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 but announced last January that she is now in remission.

After watching her first Bollywood performance, Kate was shown into a candle-lit ballroom where Odedra performed his latest work, ‘Songs of the Bulbul’, an interpretation of an ancient Sufi story about a captured songbird, or bulbul, which sings an exquisite tune before perishing from despair.

“That was so moving. Extraordinary,” she said and told the orchestra: “Thank you. That was really fantastic.”

Large crowds were waiting to greet her as she left the centre, and Catherine walked over to say hello before walking round the corner to the Golden Mile.

The short walk was met with beeping horns from drivers as they caught a glimpse of the princess, and shoppers stopped in their tracks as they spotted her.

Still wearing the garland, she visited Ladlees, a family sari shop, where she admired the fabric’s embroidery and asked whether the skills had been passed down through the family. She also visited Bobby’s restaurant, where she was invited to choose a box of sweets to take home to her children.

The Princess of Wales during a visit to the Shreeji Dham Haveli Hindu Temple (Image: PA)

Catherine then visited Shreeji Dham Haveli, a Hindu temple dedicated to the teachings of Shrimad Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhuji, which serves the local Vaishnav community in Leicester.

The Princess, who took her shoes off as per custom, was invited to take part in a ladies’ dance during a religious ceremony, and said “oh, go on then”.

She stepped around in circles with women in saris, clapping and trying to follow their movements.

Catherine also poured an offering of fresh milk to a deity, Lord Krishna, as part of a ceremony, walking around a replica of a mountain in a version of a pilgrimage route at a sacred site in India.

She was given a sari and traditional scarf as a gift, and sat down in a canteen for a vegetarian lunch including samosas, potato sabzi, pilau rice and chapati.