UK’s King Charles hosts Japan’s Emperor Naruhito for historic state visit

LONDON, UK:

Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla welcomed Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his wife to London on Tuesday, marking the start of a three-day state visit that includes a military parade, carriage procession and state banquet.

Charles’ son and heir to the throne Prince William earlier traveled to the hotel where the 64-year-old emperor and Empress Masako were staying, before the trio arrived for a ceremonial reception at Horse Guards Parade on Tuesday.

Reuters

The two heads of state, Charles wearing a hat, then inspected the Guard of Honor as rows of soldiers in their traditional red uniforms and black bearskin hats stood in the summer heat.

They then travel to Buckingham Palace in a gold-tipped carriage.

The emperor’s trip seeks to celebrate and deepen military, cultural and scientific ties between the two countries and was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic.

It now takes place in the run-up to Britain’s July 4th election, which means some of the usual political elements will be missing.

There will be no Downing Street meeting between the emperor and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, although Sunak and Opposition Leader Keir Starmer will both attend the state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night.

The visit comes at a difficult time for the British monarchy after Charles, 75, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and as William’s wife, Catherine, undergoes preventive chemotherapy for cancer.

In another setback, Princess Anne, Charles’ younger sister, suffered a head injury on Sunday after an incident believed to have involved a horse. While he is expected to make a full recovery, he has withdrawn from attending the state banquet.

Emperor Naruhito came to London in 2022 to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and loves Britain, having studied here in the early 1980s.

He spoke of the kindness shown to him by the British royals at the time, including a visit to the royal family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where Charles took him fishing.

The couple will have time to discuss those memories over lunch at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. They will then view Japanese-related items from the royal collection before a tour of Westminster Abbey in the afternoon.