The King has welcomed South Africa’s president at the start of the first state visit he is hosting as monarch. King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, formally greeted Cyril Ramaphosa at Horse Guards Parade in London as the two-day trip began.
The president will visit Westminster Abbey before attending a banquet hosted by the King at Buckingham Palace later.
Mr Ramaphosa’s visit comes as South Africa struggles to tackle continuing power blackouts and high unemployment. It is the first state visit to the UK in more than three years after they were stopped during the Covid pandemic.
The Prince and Princess of Wales met the South African president at his London hotel on Tuesday morning before escorting him to Horse Guards Parade for the ceremonial welcome with the King.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, along with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, were also at Horse Guards, where the president and King inspected soldiers from the Coldstream Guards.
Credit: bbc.com
