President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are looking forward to having an April 22 birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth and a dinner with Prince William and Duchess Kate. [...]  “This is certainly is an important part of public diplomacy, but I think it will be one of the more pleasant aspects of the trip that the president is certainly forward to.”

The visit of the British royal couple, Prince William and Princess Katherine, is a demonstration of Britain’s use of soft power in buttressing the relationship with India built on a not always happy colonial past. Today’s thriving trade relationship, the interaction between millions of Indians settled in the UK and their original home are reasons enough, particularly with an eye on a possible future outside the European Union.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will very soon be on their way to India for their first foreign tour of 2016. It's the first visit to the country for both Kate and William who are said to be eagerly anticipating their 6-day tour. Revealing details of the couple's itinerary, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said the royal visit will mark the start of "a personal relationship with a country that will play a major global role throughout their lives."

Opinion polls tell us that almost half of the British public would like the Crown to skip a generation and pass straight the Duke of Cambridge. In China this week, it felt as though it already had.

China threw open its arms to welcome Prince William, as the second-in-line to the throne made his first visit to the mainland by a member of the royal family since 1986. The Duke of Cambridge focused his three-day trip on culture, sports and activities promoting the protection of wildlife.

It was a state visit that for many sparked memories of another nearly 30 years ago, when William’s parents Charles and Diana, then Prince and Princess of Wales, came to the country for five days of pomp and pressing the flesh in 1986.

On Sunday evening, Prince William arrives in Beijing at the start of a three day visit to China.  At state level, the objective is to promote brand Britain, and at a personal level, it's an opportunity to talk about his abiding passion: elephant protection.