King welcomes Nigerian president to Windsor Castle for state visit
It is the first state visit to the UK by a leader of the west African nation in 37 years.
The King has welcomed the Nigerian president with a broad smile and a handshake, as he hosts a state visit at Windsor Castle.
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Charles and Camilla welcomed Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, to Windsor on Wednesday morning.
It is the first state visit to the UK by a leader of the west African nation in 37 years, and also the first incoming state visit by a Muslim leader during Ramadan in almost a century.
Both the Prince and Princess of Wales greeted Queen Camilla with a kiss on both cheeks, with Kate curtsying to Camilla and later to the King.
Charles chatted to the president as they stood side by side on the dais, and pointed out the Sovereign’s Escort from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in their resplendent uniforms.
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Ceremonial service personnel lined the procession route as the King and the president then 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.
Supporters of the president gathered along the route and cheered as he passed.
The King and his guest 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.
Waiting in the Windsor Castle quadrangle was a Guard of Honour from the Grenadier Guards in their scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, with the Band of the Grenadier Guards.
Formed in two lines in front of the royal dais was the Guard of Honour – around 100 guardsmen and officers commanded by Major Ben Tracey.
The major stepped forward and told the King and the visiting head of state his guardsmen were ready for inspection, and two figures stepped off the dais.
In brilliant spring sunshine, the Nigerian president, escorted by the major and with the King a few paces behind, inspected the first row of troops.
Thames Valley Police said extensive security measures are being deployed in the Berkshire town, as the event takes place against an international backdrop of the deepening Middle East crisis.
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.