North Island, Seychelles
Prince William and Kate Middleton (now Duke and Duchess) jetted off Tuesday to the Seychelles, a string of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles off the eastern coast of Kenya. The royal couple stays ten days on the archipelago’s secluded North Island, some 19 miles away from the capital of Victoria.
According to the owner of the North Island, Farhad Vladi, he has rented out the Island to the newly wed Kate and William to spend their honeymoon. Yes, we rented the island to the British royal family, Vladi told a Hamburg newspaper. Prince William and his Kate are spending their honeymoon there. But you will understand that we are not saying anything further.
The North Island has eleven villas developed by Tanzanian and Balinese craftsmen. Each of the villas is endowed with pools, private butlers and gazebos. The most lavish among the villas is villa number 11 which is spread over 8,000-square-foot and is equipped with a circular-flow swimming pool and a private cinema. The royal couple has chosen a presidential villa that comes with a price tag of $14,400 per night.
The resort has a spa, a gym, a tennis court, paved hiking trails, and yoga classes. It also has a private marina offering sailing, windsurfing, motorboating, deep sea fishing, and scuba diving trips. The island is a mile in length and less than a mile wide. It has seven secluded beaches — one of which, Anse Victorin, was voted as the most beautiful beach in the world. The island is covered with lush tropical vegetation, says the Guardian, and is home to a colony of giant tortoises and rare wildlife, such as the magpie robin. Reports suggest that prior to purchase of the island by the Maier family in the 1970s, it was inhabited by insects and strange plants. Native trees, birds and other species have now been re-introduced on the island.
The Seychelles has only 90,000 people and is used to hosting celebrities and the fabulously wealthy. Many of them come on holiday and walk the streets sometimes unnoticed, said Antoine Onezeim, the chief executive of the island nation’s broadcasting corporation. Our approach is to let the visitors enjoy their holidays in our country without any disturbance.
Buckingham Palace has requested the royal couple’s privacy be respected while they are on holiday.
