Solomon Islands ( CNN ) -- After the furor caused by a French magazine 's decision to publish topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge , she and Prince William will be more than ready to get away from it all in the South Pacific . As they arrive in the Solomon Islands on the next step of their Asian tour , `` Welkom William and Kate '' is the message the royal couple will see on huge billboards scattered across the capital , Honiara . And in a straw poll of residents , it 's clear the city is more than excited about the couple 's arrival on Sunday . One man told me he will be heading to the airport early to catch a glimpse of them . He guessed half the population will turn out for the `` once-in-a-lifetime '' opportunity to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge . The couple are no doubt set for a big South Pacific welcome , involving not just big crowds but music and dancers . They will surely smile when they see their ground transport -- a pick-up truck dressed up as a canoe . Oarsmen will pretend to row the couple into town . Opinion : British privacy should start with British press . Later in the trip they will take to a real canoe , with rowers who will take them to a paradise island , accompanied by swimmers dressed as sharks . This leg of the tour will be full of photo opportunities -- but Kate and William may well have mixed views about that . The last leg to Malaysia was overshadowed by the French magazine Closer 's decision to publish pictures of Kate sunbathing topless while on a private holiday with William in France . She was upset , William is angry and they have both decided to take legal action against the publisher . But this is part of a bigger battle . They are trying to set a precedent ; drawing a line under what they see as creeping media intrusion . William is fiercely protective of his wife and he is determined to protect her from the fate of his mother , Diana , Princess of Wales , who was hounded by the paparazzi right up to the moment she died in Paris . After Diana : How can intimate royal snaps be published in France ? What will hearten , and possibly surprise , William and Kate when they get here is that nobody is talking about the topless pictures . I ca n't see a mention of it in the papers and people seem much more interested in catching a glimpse of the couple and celebrating this moment when the Solomons take a rare step into the global spotlight . It 's really only the media pack accompanying the tour that is discussing the photos -- because that 's what 's making the headlines in Europe , the United States and Australia . There is some apprehension among the accredited photographers that Kate and William will now become even more shy of the cameras , but the palace says the couple are determined to carry on with the tour as planned . They do n't want their trip to be ruined by the magazine scandal and it seems the islanders awaiting their arrival feel the same . The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge look set to have some respite and some fun in the Solomon Islands . But as this week has demonstrated , nothing about royal tours is predictable .
William and Catherine are on a tour of southeast Asian nations . Residents of the Solomon Islands are set to give them a warm welcome . Their trip to Malaysia was overshadowed by a furor over topless pictures of Kate . William and Catherine are reading the French magazine that published the pictures .