This year's annual Christmas card is a family portrait taken on a trip to Jordan earlier this year. Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge pose with their children Prince George, right, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. AP
This year's annual Christmas card is a family portrait taken on a trip to Jordan earlier this year. Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge pose with their children Prince George, right, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. AP
This year's annual Christmas card is a family portrait taken on a trip to Jordan earlier this year. Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge pose with their children Prince George, right, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. AP
This year's annual Christmas card is a family portrait taken on a trip to Jordan earlier this year. Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge pose with their children Prince George, right, Princess

Prince William and Kate's Christmas card features smiling family in Jordan


Paul Carey
  • English
  • Arabic

Prince William and his wife Kate have chosen a relaxed family picture during a trip to Jordan for their official Christmas card photograph.

The Duke of Cambridge, wearing shorts, is pictured sitting on a gold pouffe next to the duchess, who is wearing a green dress. They are resting a hand on each other’s knee.

Prince George, 8, and Princess Charlotte, 6, sit next to their parents, while 3-year-old Prince Louis is sitting on what appears to be a sheepskin rug at his mother’s feet.

The 2020 Christmas card of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge which features an image taken in the autumn by photographer Matt Porteous. EPA
The 2020 Christmas card of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge which features an image taken in the autumn by photographer Matt Porteous. EPA

The image was released by Kensington Palace and posted on the couple’s social media accounts with the caption: “Delighted to share a new image of the family, which features on this year’s Christmas card.”

Kensington Palace said the photograph was taken in Jordan earlier this year, but did not say what the nature of the trip was, when exactly it took place, or who was behind the camera.

When Kate was a child, the Middleton family lived in Jordan and she has fond memories of her time there.

Her parents were employees of British Airways — Michael as a manager, Carole as a flight attendant — when, in May 1984, Mr Middleton was offered a posting to Amman, the capital of Jordan.

Kate was 2 years old and Mrs Middleton was on extended maternity leave with 8-month-old Pippa.

The family returned to the UK in September 1986, settling back in Berkshire when Mr Middleton's posting came to an end.

Last month, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall went on an official tour to Jordan and Egypt, where they celebrated the culture, heritage and achievements of the Middle East nations.

The 2019 Christmas card featured Prince William and his wife Kate with their three children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk. Getty Images
The 2019 Christmas card featured Prince William and his wife Kate with their three children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk. Getty Images

In the photograph, the Cambridges and their children are smiling and look relaxed in casual outfits.

William is wearing a khaki green T-shirt and beige shorts, while Kate has on a long-sleeved, full-length green dress.

George tones in with his parents in a camouflage print T-shirt and light-coloured shorts, while Charlotte looks summery in a blue and white gingham dress.

Louis is sporting a blue and white stripy short-sleeved shirt and light-coloured shorts.

If you go

Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.

Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com

A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: December 10, 2021, 4:03 PM