The royals have been hosting Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, first lady Oluremi Tinubu, at Windsor Castle today, with the day ending with a glitzy state banquet in St George’s Hall
The Princess of Wales dazzled in a glittering tiara as she helped the King wow their Nigerian guests at a state banquet tonight.
The Princess, wearing the Lover’s Knot Tiara and a long emerald gown by Andrew Gn, arrived at St George’s Hall with Prince William and Prince Edward.
President Tinubu’s stay in the UK is the first incoming state visit in nearly 100 years by a Muslim leader during the holy month of Ramadan, during which many Muslims fast and refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset.
As a result, there was no traditional lunch today with the King in the castle for the president during the day. Instead, it is believed the Nigerian president privately broke his fast before joining the Royal Family in St George’s Hall for the banquet.
The first lady, who is known as Remi, is a Christian and an ordained Pentecostal pastor. Eid-al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, begins tomorrow evening, when the president and his wife will leave the UK.
Other royals joined King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, at the lavish state banquet. They included the Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Several notable Nigerian and British-Nigerian celebrities also attended Wednesday night’s event, including: Olympic gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu, England rugby captain Maro Itoje, Former Lioness Eni Aluko, singer Tiwa Savage, space scientist Dame Maggie Aderin, broadcaster Ade Adepitan, and Michelin-starred chef Adejoke Bakare.
Nine members of the royal family are attending, with the King, Queen, William and Kate joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Other guests include Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is seated next to rugby star Itjoe.
Kate’s attendance at the state banquet came after she had earlier deployed diplomatic dressing as she and William officially welcomed their guests this morning at their Windsor hotel.
The princess wore grey coat dress by young British-Nigerian fashioner designer Tolu Coker. The King made a surprise appearance in the front row of the designer’s London Fashion Week show last month. Kate matched her outfit with a grey Jane Taylor hat decorated with a white bow and also wore the late Diana, Princess of Wales’ earrings.
The Nigerian leader and his wife were later met by Charles and Camilla in the warm spring sunshine, after being escorted to a red-carpeted dais outside Windsor and Eton Riverside train station by William and Kate.
Green and white Nigerian flags lined the streets, alongside Union flags, and a celebratory oversized Royal Standard was flying from the top of Windsor Castle’s Round Tower.
Ceremonial service personnel lined the procession route as the King and the president travelled in the Australian State Coach through the streets of the Berkshire town to the castle’s quadrangle, led by a Sovereign’s Escort from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
They were followed by the Queen and Mrs Tinubu in the Scottish State Coach, and then William and Kate with Nigeria’s attorney-general Lateef Fagbemi and minister of state for foreign affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in the Irish State Coach.
The Nigerian leader’s stay, aimed at strengthening the UK’s position as a global hub for African business, coincides with the Department for Business and Trade’s announcement that hundreds of new jobs are to be created as a series of Nigerian companies scale up their operations in the UK.
The grand royal occasion also comes less than a month after the King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on suspicion of sharing confidential reports with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, amid the ongoing scandal facing the monarchy.
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