From Palau to Rotherhithe: the story of Prince Lee Boo

Less than two months after discovering this picture in the blissful air-conditioned cool of the Etpison Museum in Palau’s main town of Koror, I stood by a south London graveside, teeth chattering in the bitter cold despite my hat, scarf, gloves and multiple layers. The two settings couldn’t be further apart, geographically or in any other sense, yet a common story links the back streets of Rotherhithe on the south bank of the Thames with the tiny tropical Pacific island of Palau.