Prince William recreates photo of wife Kate taken when she was toddler in Jordan

'She is very upset I am coming here without her,' William tells onlookers in ancient city of Jerash

Prince William and Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein look at a photograph showing William's wife, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, as a toddler in Jerash

The Duke of Cambridge has posed for photos amid Roman ruins in Jordan – on the exact same spot where wife Catherine was pictured as a toddler more than 30 years ago.

Prince William – on an official five-day tour of the Middle East – was in the ancient city of Jerash.

As he recreated the photo of Catherine, he said: “Need to come back with the family for this shot."

He laughed when he was shown an enlarged copy of the original Middleton snap – also featuring father Michael and sister Pippa – and declared: "Michael's looking very smart in his flip-flops."

Prince William recreates photo of wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, taken when she was a toddler in Jordan

(Twitter / Kensington Palace)

The family lived in Jordan for three years from 1984 when Mr Middleton was working as a manager for British Airways.

William told dignitaries and reporters that his wife "loved" the country, adding: "She is very upset that I am coming here without her."

(Middleton family/ Kensington Palace

(Middleton family/ Kensington Palace)

Samia Khouri, director of museums at Jordan's Department of Antiquities, guided the second-in-line-to-the-throne around the first-century site during a 30 minute tour on Monday.

She said: "He was very surprised when he saw the photo, he did not expect that.

"But that's why he was here, because he wanted to take a photo at the same spot where Kate was photographed."

During the visit, the prince met Syrian refugee children on Unicef's Makani programme, which offers support for parents from deprived backgrounds, especially refugee communities.

A day before on Sunday, he attended a garden party in honour of the Queen's official birthday and told an audience of Jordanians: "The way in which you opened your doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria, not to mention your longstanding commitments to Palestinian refugees, is remarkable."

He also spent time watching England’s World Cup victory over Panama with the Crown Prince of Jordan Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II.

During the rest of the five-day tour of the region, Prince William will meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

It comes amid a rise in tensions between the two and an increase in violence on the Gaza border.

Kensington Palace has called the trip “historic”.