King Charles Welcomes South African President Ramaphosa for First State Visit
LONDON (Reuters) – King Charles hosted his first state visit since becoming British monarch on Tuesday, welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace. Charles, 74, rolled out the traditional pomp and ceremony for the first time as head of state, as Britain seeks to bolster its relations with its biggest trading partner in […]
LONDON (Reuters) – King Charles hosted his first state visit since becoming British monarch on Tuesday, welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace.
Charles, 74, rolled out the traditional pomp and ceremony for the first time as head of state, as Britain seeks to bolster its relations with its biggest trading partner in Africa.
Ramaphosa and his wife were officially greeted by Charles’s eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate at a central London hotel (Corinthia) to mark the start of his two-day trip, the first state visit to the UK by a world leader since that of former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania in 2019.
Gun salutes and a ceremonial welcome from the king and his wife Camilla, the queen consort, followed before a grand carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where a banquet will be held later in the president’s honour.
On Tuesday afternoon Ramaphosa visited Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela.
He will also address lawmakers in parliament and meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Britain hopes the visit, which had been planned before the death of Queen Elizabeth in September, will strengthen trade and investment ties between the two nations, and show the importance of links with the Commonwealth of Nations, the international organisation which Charles now heads.
“This is a reinforcement of the strong bilateral relationship that we have with South Africa, a real opportunity to build on that close working relationship and discuss some of the issues that affect us all,” British foreign minister James Cleverly told Reuters.
The last state visit to Britain by a South African leader was that of President Jacob Zuma in 2010, when he was met by Charles and Camilla at the start of the trip.
President Ramaphosa arrived in London yesterday (Monday) and visited the SA High Commission office in Trafalgar Square, where a protest was held by the DA and South Africans abroad.
UPDATE: MORE PHOTOS FROM PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA’S STATE VISIT
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Alistair Smout, Editing by William Maclean and Bernadette Baum)
๐ฌ๐ง ๐ค ๐ฟ๐ฆ
A pleasure to welcome President @CyrilRamaphosa to the UK pic.twitter.com/1MdU7VqoRW
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) November 22, 2022
Looking forward to welcoming @PresidencyZA today! ๐ฟ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ง
The Royal Family will celebrate their enduring relationship with South Africa over the next two days, as His Majesty The King hosts The President on behalf of the Nation. pic.twitter.com/129sJyB2hO
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 22, 2022
A 62-round gun salute has just been fired by the @HACRegimentย from the Tower of London to mark the state visit of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This is the first state visit of HM The King's reign ๐ pic.twitter.com/KeXNEw4fUZ
— The Tower of London (@TowerOfLondon) November 22, 2022
The State Visit Carriage Procession, made up of the President of South Africa, The King, The Queen Consort, and The Prince and Princess of Wales, arrives at Buckingham Palace. ๐ pic.twitter.com/JMTkZ0dy3E
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 22, 2022