Kate Middleton and Prince William took on an important royal role for the first state visit of King Charles III's reign.
The Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the first meeting of his trip to the U.K. Prince William and Kate, both 40, were called upon to do the initial welcome at London's Corinthia Hotel in their roles as next-in-line to the throne.
They then joined their visitor for a drive to Horse Guards Parade, where the full pageantry of the British state was on display. There, King Charles III with his wife Queen Camilla made the official welcome to President Ramaphosa. The Guard of Honour gave a royal salute and the South African national anthem was played before King Charles and President Ramaphosa inspected the troops.
In Green Park, across the road from Buckingham Palace, there was a spectacular Royal Gun Salute from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, at 12:10 p.m. local time.
Although the president's wife, First Lady Dr. Tshepo Motsepe, was announced to accompany her husband during the trip to the U.K. when the visit was announced in October, she did not join him.
President Ramaphosa's trip marks the first state visit of King Charles' reign. It is the first to the U.K. since then-U.S. President Donald Trump was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2019.
The visit is designed to help build on the close ties and friendship between the two countries. This state visit was already being prepared before Queen Elizabeth's death in September — and there is a poignancy to the links, as she made one of the most important speeches of her life there, when she vowed on her 21st birthday to devote her life to the service of the country and the Commonwealth.
Later on Tuesday, after several visits around London, President Ramaphosa will be the guest of honor at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, when jewelry, tiaras and the glittering pomp of the palace will be on show.
The palace gave a sneak peek at the preparations for the banquet, sharing a video from the kitchens, where staff were in the throes of preparing the food — and edible table adornments. They showed the creation of a decoration in the shape of the national flower of South Africa, the Protea.
What’s been cooking in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace for the State Visit? 👨🍳🇿🇦
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 21, 2022
The national flowers of South Africa, Protea, have been recreated out of sugar and painted with edible colouring, which will be presented at the State Banquet alongside petit fours and coffee. pic.twitter.com/roQxRDNqpd
It shows that the palace is getting back to some kind of normality — not only in light of the late Queen's death and the COVID-19 pandemic but also of the ongoing renovation work at Buckingham Palace that has been underway for more than three years.
Kate attended her first state banquet in 2015, helping Queen Elizabeth host the President of China, Xi Jinping, and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan.
Looking forward to welcoming @PresidencyZA today! 🇿🇦🇬🇧
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 22, 2022
The Royal Family will celebrate their enduring relationship with South Africa over the next two days, as His Majesty The King hosts The President on behalf of the Nation. pic.twitter.com/129sJyB2hO
Early on Tuesday, the royal family's official social media pages shared a video highlighting their relationship with South Africa through the years, including photos of the late Queen Elizabeth with Nelson Mandela, who was the country's president from 1994 to 1999.
Another sweet photo featured the then-Prince Charles with his son Prince Harry during a visit to Dukuduku in 1997, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are also featured in photos from their 2018 tour in Africa.
