Prince Charles arrives in Colombo for CHOGM

Colombo: Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday for the Commonwealth leaders’ summit. The Prince of Wales, who turned 65 Thursday, will attend the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here Friday. [caption id=“attachment_1230063” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. AFP[/caption] At a reception to be held to mark his birthday he will meet a range of people from Sri Lankan society, Xinhua reported citing a statement released by the British High Commission. “The garden at Westminster House, the venue for the party, will host a small organic market, at which the Prince and Duchess will view local produce and learn about farming in Sri Lanka,” it added. The prince will Friday represent the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth at the CHOGM opening ceremony, and will host other Commonwealth events including a reception for business leaders and a dinner for heads of government. The prince will spend Saturday in the hill country. In Kandy, he will be visiting the iconic Temple of the Tooth, the British Garrison Cemetery and the historic Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. Moving on to Nuwara Eliya, he will visit a tea estate and a school for children with disabilities. The Prince of Wales last visited Sri Lanka in 2005 and prior to that in 1998 to celebrate Sri Lanka’s 50th anniversary of independence. IANS