KATE and William had free reign of the PALACE – as the duo matched in jungle colours.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, mouthed “wow” as she and William, 39, had a guided tour of ancient Mayan ruins called the ‘Sky Palace’.
Kate stunned in a bright white t-shirt tucked into green trousers paired with white pumps as the Duke donned a matching green outfit.
She led him up the steep steps of the side of the 141ft high jungle ruins in Caracol, in Belize.
The couple were shown around the 2,400-year-old Mayan marvel by archaeologist Allan Moore – who compared the ancient site to Buckingham Palace.
They posed halfway up on a plateau similar to the palace balcony on which they kissed for the crowds at their 2012 wedding.
The palace adventure came on the couple’s third day of their Caribbean tour.
Allan Moore, archaeologist, said: “What you are seeing is the Buckingham Palace of its day.
“Three thousand years ago this would have seemed very modern.”
The stunning relic remains the tallest man-made structure in Belize today where the ancient Mayans would place their rulers at the top of their known world.
It was called Canaa which translates into ‘Sky Palace’.
More than 150,000 people would have lived in settlement around the temple at his height.
But Kate and William were given free reign of the empty remote ruins a two-hour bus drive down inaccessible forest tracks – which attracts a handful of tourists every day.
On the guided tour Allan Moore told them: “It’s like looking at the inside of Buckingham Palace. This is just a small fraction of what we have here.”
The original settlement dates back to 400BC, developing into a more prosperous city by 200AD.
It measured a staggering 75 square miles and is five times larger than even the country’s biggest modern inhabitation, Belize City.
Its name derives from the Spanish for snail shell because of the spiralling access road that led to the site.
Mr Moore showed the couple some ancient Mayan carvings, with the couple pointing out lizards, fish nibbling on water lilies and a feline shape which he explained could have been a jaguar, a resident of the jungle area surrounding them.
He also walked them round to an area where the ancient Maya used to play ball games.
HISTORY LESSON
As the couple caught a glimpse of the vista the couple marvelled at what they saw.
William got the giggles when, as he turned back away from the view – which was being captured by a group of photographers – to find another set of snappers the other side of them.
“We got one [ group] one aide and another the other. You are in each other’s photographs,” he laughed.
The couple then continued on their climb accompanied by their own personal photographer.
Mr Moore told them as they climbed the steep steps up: “People often like to try and run up here.”
“What, they race?’ Exclaimed William. “You must be very fit if you are doing this three times a week Allan!”
After learning the history of the Mayans and the rediscovery of the ruins in 1937 the couple visited the British Army Training Support Unit.
Wills spent time with BATSUB when he was with the Welsh Guards in 2000.
They were set to witness survival tactics used in the Chiquibul Forest – which is part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy.
Read More on HOAR
Britain keeps a garrison of 40 soldiers in Belize.
The Duke of Cambridge was also last night set to deliver a speech – in which he is set to mention the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and war in Ukraine – to the Belize PM and VIPS at Mayan Ruins of Cahal Pech, which was once a palatial, hilltop home for an elite Maya family.
