Kate greeted by topless tribal women in Solomon Islands on Royal tour

The Duchess of Cambridge received an intricate beaded necklace from a gaggle of bare-chested locals in Solomon Islands and she couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

The Young Royals were garlanded with the traditional jewellery during their visit to the tiny village of Marau in the Solomon Islands before taking the scenic route to Tavanipupu aboard a traditional war canoe.

It was a world away from the storm that has engulfed the couple because of topless pictures of Kate published by French magazine Closer last week. The Duke and Duchess’s lawyers are in a Paris court today seeking an injunction to prevent the further spread of the images.

The Duchess of Cambridge received an intricate beaded necklace from a gaggle of bare-chested locals in Solomon Islands and she couldn't help but let out a giggle

The royal couple is staying in a secluded 1,200 Australian dollars-a-night thatched leaf bungalow with its own private jetty from where they can go sunbathing, snorkelling and canoe paddling.

House No 1, their home for the night, stocked with the finest champagne, has just one large room, bathroom and a spacious outdoor shower area – with enough space for two.

Fortunately, given recent events, the bungalow also stands in its own grounds behind a bamboo fence and gate hastily erected to give the royal couple more privacy.

The Duke and Duchess were expected to dine alone together tonight inside or, more likely, out on the jetty, where there is a sunlounger beside the crystal-clear water and four black rattan chairs beneath a bamboo shelter screened by a muslin cloth.

On Irish chef Paul Carr’s menu: a wide choice of exquisite international and Solomon Islands cuisine, including the island’s own coconut-fed chickens, and freshly-caught ikamata – yellow fin tuna in lime juice and coconut milk – and chilli mud crab.

“The menu that we have tonight, we’ve practiced for two weeks,” the chef said.

The couple’s bungalow sits beside the palm-fringed shore of the 37-acre tropical island in the beautiful Marau Sound lagoon beside the Coral Sea in the Solomon Islands.

“It’s not a huge house. It’s not Buckingham Palace by a long stretch,” said Pamela Kimberly, co-owner of the island, who has spent $6 million buying and upgrading the resort in the past four years.

“I really wanted them to feel like they had everything they need. The fridge is fully stocked, the finest champagne, fresh fruit platter, high-tech cappuccino machine… I had a bladeless fan system installed above their bed.”

But despite the decadent interior, the couple has been easy customers.

“We’ve had all sorts of requests from VIPs,” said Pamela Kimberley.

“People who have wanted to bring private chefs, fly in furniture and so on. But the Duke and Duchess are so down to earth. They haven’t asked for one thing.”

Out on the pontoon jetty, William and Kate can expect the odd passerby. In the evening there are no motorboats – just people going by in their canoes and often they are singing.

They are also expected to go snorkelling before a breakfast of homemade bread, fruit platters and fresh juices to view the huge numbers of fish in the water including blue starfish, dugongs, and the occasional small reef shark.

Pamela Kimberly said: “The water is pretty safe, though there are reef sharks, but they never come close.”

Prince William and Kate had first journeyed by motor launch to the neighboring island of Marapa, where they were given a traditional ceremonial welcome by men blowing conches and women standing in the water, splashing rhythmically to produce a drumming sound to attract sharks.

Solomon Islanders have traditionally worshipped the shark and when warriors went out on raiding parties to rival islanders, some of the tribesmen would usually swim alongside in shark costumes.

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