Celebrating Charles’ big day: Foreign royals, world leaders and dignitaries including Queen Letizia of Spain arrive for evening reception at Buckingham Palace on eve of the King’s Coronation
- Follow MailOnline’s new Royals channel for all the latest news and updates on the Royal Family
VIPs including foreign royals, world leaders and other overseas dignitaries have gathered at Buckingham Palace tonight for a glittering reception hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla the night before his historic Coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Some 100 heads of state will be in London for the ceremony tomorrow, with international representatives from 203 countries due to attend.
Among the global leaders seen arriving at the palace on Friday was the First Lady of Ukraine, President Zelensky’s wife Olena Zelenska. She will represent Ukraine at the Coronation while her husband remains at home, leading efforts against Putin’s illegal invasion. She is joined by Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal.
Other European royals have already arrived at Buckingham Palace, including King Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, Queen Letizia of Spain, Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Queen Letizia of Spain, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, the Presidents of Germany and Italy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sergio Mattarella, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be among those in Westminster Abbey.
Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, who presided over a civil liberties crackdown in Hong Kong, is also on the King’s guest list, a move described as ‘outrageous’ by Conservative MPs. Jill Biden is representing her husband, US President Joe Biden.
Earlier, Charles met leaders from the Commonwealth of Nations, the voluntary associations of 56 countries which he also heads, and held a lunch for prime ministers and royal representatives from the 14 other realms where he is head of state, including Australia and Canada.
Diplomatic cars form a procession on The Mall near to Buckingham Palace in central London
First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal (right) arrive at Buckingham Palace on Friday
King Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attend the high-profile event alongside other foreign dignatories
US First Lady Jill Biden (C) and her grand daughter Finnegan Biden (L) arrive for the reception in the place of Joe Biden
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant and King Philippe of Belgium pose for pictures on arrival
Queen Letizia of Spain (left) and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (right) arriving at Buckingham Palace
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark attend the Coronation Reception for overseas guests at Buckingham Palace on May 5
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Princess Mette-Marit (left) and Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei (right), arriving at King Charles’ reception at Buckingham Palace
The King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn is seen at the Palace ahead of a reception with the King later
President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset and Muriel Zeender Berset joined other European heads of state on Friday
Also arriving at Buckingham Palace this evening are government figures including the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak has already met with many world leaders today as he discussed climate change, trade and sporting rivalry in a series of meetings ahead of the King’s coronation.
The calendar of pre-coronation diplomacy, which came amid a difficult set of local election results for Mr Sunak, saw the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers, the Emir of Qatar and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrive in Downing Street for separate meetings with the PM.
Climate change and trade talks dominated discussions, while the war in Ukraine also featured as Mr Sunak held the series of short engagements over the course of Friday.
Australia’s Anthony Albanese said that the relationship between the two countries had ‘never been stronger’, while New Zealand’s Chris Hipkins praised ties as ‘the best it has been in a long time’.
Mr Albanese, who spoke to reporters after the head-to-head, stressed the value of the recently agreed UK-Australian free trade deal and looked ahead to it coming into force at the end of the month.
He praised the ‘opportunities that presents for Australian businesses to have growth here in the UK and also, consequently, UK businesses to have growth in Australia’.
Mr Albanese said the two leaders also discussed how ‘people-to-people relations’ could be ‘expanded’, referencing working holiday visas.
He said the two men also discussed ‘co-operation on climate change’.
He added: ‘Both governments believe there are enormous economic opportunities to be seized from action on climate change and, of course, our co-operation in the Indo-Pacific.’
He praised, too, the ‘bipartisan’ nature of climate action in the UK, adding: ‘It should be in Australia as well.’
Mr Albanese also added he was glad the free trade deal has been completed in time for the King’s coronation, which he called a ‘historic event of enormous significance’.
The pair also exchanged jokes about the sporting rivalry. This summer’s Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, as well as the upcoming Ashes series, both got mentions as Mr Albanese said that star striker Sam Kerr would help Australia ‘bring it home’.
Mr Sunak replied: ‘I’m sure the Lionesses may have something to say about that.’
The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog (left), arrives, with his wife Michal
President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader and Raquel Patricia Arbaje Soneh are among those at Buckingham Palace tonight
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and his wife Susannah Sparks arrive to King Charles’ reception
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives at Buckingham Palace after a day of meeting world leaders
King Charles reacts as he meets well-wishers during a walkabout on the Mall
Later, Mr Sunak and Mr Hipkins met over a plate of sausage rolls and tomato ketchup as the UK Prime Minister said that the ‘friendship and partnership between our countries is as strong as ever’.
The New Zealand leader, who stopped to chat to reporters after he left the meeting, said: ‘We discussed a range of areas in which New Zealand and the UK have mutual interests, that was a very positive conversation.’
He said the pair discussed the implementation of the free trade agreement between the countries, calling it a ‘significant milestone and a significant future opportunity for us to grow trade between both of our countries’.
The meeting between Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Mr Sunak saw the Prime Minister stress the ‘close partnership’ on issues such as the war in Ukraine and regional security, while the Qatari leader spoke of the importance of last year’s World Cup, saying the country was ‘very proud’ of the success of the footballing competition.
In a statement, following the meeting with the emir, a Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The leaders discussed the exciting opportunities to deepen co-operation between our two countries, including through greater investment in strategic industries such the partnership between Qatar and Rolls-Royce to invest in ground-breaking green engineering projects.
‘They highlighted the unique joint RAF squadrons operating in Qatar and committed to further develop our defence co-operation.
‘Turning to international affairs, the leaders shared their deep concern at the unfolding conflict in Sudan. They stressed the importance of diplomatic efforts to facilitate talks between the parties, to end the violence and transition to a civilian-led democratic government.
‘The Prime Minister also welcomed Qatar’s principled support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion and they agreed our governments would continue to work together to support Ukraine’s defence and recovery.’
Amnesty International UK criticised Mr Sunak for his meeting with Sheikh Tamim.
Allan Hogarth, the group’s head of policy and government affairs, said that the Prime Minister should have used the meeting ‘as an opportunity to press him over the unfinished business of compensating thousands of migrant workers who were systematically exploited in Qatar in the run-up to the World Cup’.
He added: ‘The PM should be using what he calls the UK’s great partnership with Doha to insist that Qatar abolishes its disgraceful anti-LGBTQ+ laws, as well as lifting unacceptable restrictions on free speech and on women’s rights.’
The final meeting of Friday saw Mr Lula da Silva arrive in Downing Street, where he was greeted by crowds of supporters and protesters at the gates.
Mr Sunak joked to the left-wing leader that he hoped their conversation would be ‘less fierce than the competition between England and Brazil on the football field recently’, as he announced UK investment in the Brazilian Amazon Fund to prevent deforestation.
The Brazilian president, who spoke through a translator, told the Prime Minister that his presence in the UK was not just for the coronation but to ‘re-establish normal relations’.
Apparently referring to his controversial predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, he said that this meeting was part of Brazil’s ‘comeback’.
‘This is Brazil’s comeback in its relations with the world,’ he said.
He said the country ‘isolated itself’ in recent years, but said that Brazil wanted to come back and have discussions on trade.
Focusing too on climate change, he stressed the need for rich countries to support poorer nations’ efforts to prevent deforestation.
The King earlier went on a surprise walkabout in The Mall meeting royal fans with the Prince and Princess of Wales, shaking dozens of outstretched hands and laughed when one man asked if he was ‘nervous for tomorrow’, while another royal fan with a strong accent said: ‘Love you, I’m from Italy,’ and a third told the King, ‘Good luck for tomorrow’.
Charles took a break from a busy schedule of meetings and official engagements, including a final coronation rehearsal at Westminster Abbey, to go on the walkabout which lasted more than 20 minutes with his son and daughter-in-law. Charles automatically became king when his mother Queen Elizabeth died aged 96 in September.
The leaders of Australia and New Zealand will pledge their allegiance to Charles at the coronation even though both are life-long republicans who do not shy away from making their positions clear.
Preparations for the coronation are nearing their completion with The Mall decorated with huge union flags and others from the Commonwealth and crash barriers and other crowd control measures in place.
During the ceremony itself, the St Edward’s Crown, which weighs about 4lb 12oz and dates back to 1661 and the reign of his namesake King Charles II, will be placed on Charles’ head during the ceremony. Among the other historic items involved will be the golden Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross which holds the 530 carat Cullinan 1 diamond, also known as the Star of Africa and the world’s largest colourless cut diamond.
After the ceremony there will be a mile-long procession involving some 4,000 military personnel, with the newly-crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla returning to Buckingham Palace in the four-tonne Gold State Coach, pulled by eight horses.
Thousands are expected to line the route and millions more will watch on giant screens erected at 30 locations around Britain or at home, with the event set to be broadcast live around the world.
Source: Read Full Article
