KATE MIDDLETON AND PRINCE WILLIAM BRIGHTEN UP ISLAND TOUR

Express (UK)- THE Duchess of Cambridge had a last-minute change of wardrobe for a state banquet last night when her Solomon Islands hosts left her a stunning strapless dress on her bed.

Just half an hour before she was due to attend a state dinner she walked into her hotel room and discovered the bright pink and orange batik designed dress.

She had planned to wear a gown brought from London, but a royal aide said: “She tried it on, she loved it and she is wearing it.”

The dress came from a shop called Island Print and was in sharp contrast to her arrival outfit – an £840 turquoise, green and beige geometric patterned dress by Jonathan Saunders and a bespoke grey cocktail hat by Jane Taylor.

William already knew he was getting a gift of a colourful blue shirt because officials on the islands had checked his size in advance.

He asked Governor-General Sir Frank Kabui, the Queen’s representative on the islands before the banquet in the capital Honiara: “I have my shirt on. What do you think? Looks OK?”

A choir and traditional pan pipers in grass skirts with white body paint and beads entertained the royal couple at the feast.

Later in a speech to guests, William tried his hand at pidgin English. “Mifala barava Tagio tumas,” he said. “We thank you very, very much.”

William described their visit as a “great thrill” and added: “This land is the most beautiful place imaginable and the people of the Solomon Islands are amongst the most gracious and friendly we have ever met. The Queen told us this would be so, and as with so much else in her long reign, Her Majesty was absolutely right.”

Earlier, the couple were given a full military and traditional ceremonial welcome, including armed warriors in grass skirts, when they arrived at the former British protectorate by charter plane from Borneo. Their visit is the latest stage of a nine-day tour of south-east Asia and the South Pacific to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.