Pomp, Pacific colours as British royals tour PNG

Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla inspected a military parade on Sunday ahead of a village tour in Papua New Guinea -- the latest royal stop marking Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. Charles, second in line to the throne and known locally as "nambawan pikinini bilong misis kwin" -- first child of the queen -- was greeted by several thousand locals as he and the Duchess of Cornwall touched down on Saturday. They were met with a 21-gun salute and Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio made him a Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu, one of Papua New Guinea's highest honours. The order can only consist of 50 living members and currently includes former US president Bill Clinton and Sir Michael Somare, PNG's first leader after independence in 1975 and a dominant figure in its political history. Impoverished Papua New Guinea is the first stop on Charles and Camilla's two-week tour of the Pacific to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee which will also take in Australia and New Zealand. "Their royal highnesses are honoured guests, and their visit reflects the strong relationship between Papua New Guinea, Her Majesty The Queen, our head of state and the royal family," said Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. The royal couple began Sunday's engagements with an open-air church service at the capital's Sir John Guise stadium before inspecting a parade of the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, of which the prince is colonel-in-chief. The regiment, first established in World War II as part of allied efforts to fight the Japanese following their invasion in 1942, were to be presented with new colours by the prince. After a garden lunch reception at which the Duchess is to be presented with an orchid named in her honour, the Dendrobium Camilla, the royal entourage will travel to Boera village for an afternoon of cultural activities. They will be received by an elder and treated to a traditional war dance and singing, before a demonstration of painting, weaving, pottery and canoe-building. The royal pair will also inspect an aid project replanting coastal mangroves. It is the fourth time Charles has visited PNG -- having first come as an exchange student in Australia in the 1960s -- but his wife's maiden trip to the Melanesian nation, which is known as the "land of the unexpected". Britain proclaimed a protectorate over what became known as British New Guinea in the late 1800s. Australia later took over but Papua New Guinea proceeded to full independence in 1975.