Nigerian President Tinubu Meets Royal Family on UK State Visit | US-Israel war over Iran news

With trade between the two countries at a record high, Charles is using the two-day visit to highlight the pair’s deep cultural and commercial ties.

UK King Charles III has welcomed Nigerian President Bola Tinubu at Windsor Castle in the first state visit by a leader of Africa’s most populous nation in nearly four decades.

More than 1,000 soldiers were out in force on Wednesday for a diplomatic show of soft power by the royal family.

With trade between the two countries at a record high, Charles is using the two-day visit to highlight the pair’s deep cultural and commercial ties.

Tinubu has made less formal visits to the United Kingdom several times during his tenure and the two countries remain important partners in trade, aid and defence. London is home to a large Nigerian diaspora of around 300,000 people.

Nigeria’s presidency said the visit marks a “renewed chapter” and reflects a shared commitment to “advance trade and strengthen diplomatic ties”.

London, which called the visit “historic”, announced that Nigerian companies, including banks, are expanding operations and creating hundreds of jobs in the UK, strengthening it as a global hub for African business.

Nigerian flags and Union Jacks

King Charles and Queen Camilla greeted the president and his wife as a cannon fired in Windsor, west London.

Nigerian flags and Union Jacks flew amid the procession.

The Nigerian president and his wife had earlier chatted with the heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Catherine at a hotel in the town.

The party then took a carriage ride to historic Windsor Castle.

Later, the King and Queen showed the President and First Lady items from Nigeria, a UK colony that existed until the 1960s.

Later, a lavish state banquet was held on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Tinubu is expected to meet British Prime Minister Keir Stormer and members of the Nigerian community abroad as per the official schedule.

The traditional meeting between the visiting head of state and the British opposition is missing from the official schedule.

Nigerian-born Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly publicly criticized the country he grew up in for its corruption and violence.

The last Nigerian state visit to the UK was in 1989, although Tinubu was received by Charles in September 2024.

Before the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Charles visited Nigeria four times as Prince of Wales.

Tinubu’s visit continued despite Monday’s deadly bomb attack in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state that killed 23 people and injured more than 100, with the president condemning the attack and insisting that “Nigeria will not succumb to fear.”