The Samburu community celebrated the birth of Prince George by bestowing a community blessing upon the 3rd in line to the British throne in Samburu County.

In a ceremony attended by Mrs Phyllis Kandie, the Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism and His Excellence Dr Christian Turner, the British High Commissioner, the celebrations to welcome the birth of the future king will be held in the small town of Wamba. Also present will be Sammy Leshore, Senator for Samburu East.

Dr Turner will be handed a fattened black bull and goat -the traditional gifts- on behalf of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the royal family from the Namunyak Women’s Group from the Samburu village of Ilsapache.

Customary blessings by Samburu elders and traditional dances by the Namunyak women are among other activities scheduled to take place. The gifted bull along with the four heifers will be used to start a Royal Herd which will be looked after by the Northern Rangelands Trust in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

Kenya remains a special place for the British royal family following Prince William’s proposal to Kate on the foothills of Mount Kenya in October 2010. It is also where Queen Elizabeth learnt that she was ascending to the throne.

The Prince has frequently spoken about his passion for Kenya, referring to the country as his ‘second home’. The Kenyan people are proud of their longstanding history with the royal family following the Queen’s famous stay at Treetops in 1952, and so it is an honour for the country to mark the birth of the future monarch with a traditional Samburu ceremony.

The UK has had a long association with Kenya and continues to record the highest number of tourists into the country.