First state visit for King Charles since the British sovereign, stricken with cancer, resumed public activities at the end of April. The monarch will in fact host the Emperor of Japan Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, from 25 to 27 June in London for a state visit. Buckingham Palace announces it. It is only the second official visit abroad since Naruhito’s accession to the throne in 2019. The Emperor and Empress will arrive in London on June 22 and will dedicate the first two days to private engagements. “Traditionally, close relations have been established between the (Japanese) imperial family and the (British) royal family,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. «I am convinced that this visit will reaffirm the friendship and goodwill between the two countries and further strengthen good relations. I am happy to join the Japanese people in rejoicing,” he added in a statement.
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In the program, there is no mention of Kate Middleton. On June 25, Prince William, the heir to the throne, will meet the imperial couple and then accompany them to a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Pavilion on Horse Guards Parade, where they will meet Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla. The two couples will then travel in a carriage with Prince William to Buckingham for lunch. Buckingham Palace makes no reference in this detailed program to Princess Kate, William’s wife, who announced in March that she had cancer and that she has not been seen in public since Christmas. On June 25, in the afternoon, the Emperor and Empress will go to Westminster Abbey. In the evening a state banquet will be held at Buckingham, at which the king and emperor will each make a speech. On June 26, the Japanese rulers will visit the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research center.
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The state visit will end on the morning of June 27. Next, the Emperor and Empress will travel to Windsor for a private visit to St George’s Chapel, where Queen Elizabeth II rests. The Emperor had attended her funeral in September 2022. The couple will also visit Kew Gardens Botanical Gardens. On the last day of their visit, the Emperor and Empress will travel to Oxford, specifically to the colleges where they studied.
