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King Charles to host state visit for Nigerian president in March

This is the country's first state visit to the UK in 37 years.

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King Charles III shakes hands with Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in on September 11, 2024.
King Charles III shakes hands with Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in on September 11, 2024. Picture: Getty

By Cristina Diciu

Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles III will host the president in Nigeria's first state visit to the UK in 37 years.

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and first lady Oluremi Tinubu have accepted an invitation for the visit on March 18-19 when they will be guests of the monarch.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will wellcome them at Windsor Castle in what is set to be the first UK state visit by a Nigerian president in over three decades.

Full details of the event have yet to be announced.

Read more: King Charles heckled over Andrew and Epstein during royal walkabout in Essex

The last Nigerian state visit to the UK took place in 1989
The last Nigerian state visit to the UK took place in 1989. Picture: Getty Images

The last Nigerian state visit took place in 1989, when Queen Elizabeth II met with General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

The visit aimed to reinforce diplomatic relations and explore economic cooperation between Nigeria and the UK.

President Tinubu was previously received by the King at Buckingham Palace in September 2024.

Before ascending the throne, Charles visited Nigeria four times as the Prince of Wales - in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018. Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied him on the latter trip.