Prince William visits Jerusalem – Portland Press Herald

JERUSALEM – Prince William Visited Jerusalem's Holy Places on Thursday and Pilgrimage to the Tomb of His Great-Grandmother on the Last Day of His Royal Visit to the Middle East

By far the busiest of his five-day tour to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories – the first official visit of a member of the British royal family – while he ventures to the heart of world religion and Regional Policy

was carefully orchestrated as a non-political event, and the Prince was vigilant in his words and actions not to stir up controversy by meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visiting the various places of the region. But the Jerusalem sites he visited are at the heart of the century-old conflict and every step he has made has been closely watched.

Prince William began his visit with a belvedere from the Old Town of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. He then visited the nearby burial of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice, who rescued the Jews from the Holocaust and whose last vows were to bury her remains in the church of St. Mary Magdalene above the Garden of Gethsemane

stood solemnly near the grave of her great-grandmother, accompanied by a member of the Russian Orthodox clergy. He received several gifts from the clergy, including a bouquet of flowers and a cross. With this tribute, William followed the footsteps of his father, Charles, Prince of Wales, and his grandfather Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who had also visited the tomb of Princess Alice

. main Muslim, Jewish and Christian sites.

– From News Service Reports