The King was on top of the world yesterday as leaders from around the globe wished him luck at his Coronation.
Flanked by his closest family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales who joined him on a rapturous walkabout earlier in the day, the monarch hosted a Buckingham Palace lunch for prime ministers and governors general of the 14 other British realms.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins were seen chatting animatedly.
The King then arrived – to applause – at the royal HQ. The 42 guests including Queen Letizia of Spain, Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Charlene arrived in the white drawing room.
They mingled in a drinks reception in the music room and ate lunch in the blue drawing room.
The Princess of Wales could be heard chatting about the forecast of rain during the Coronation procession. Future King William told guests of his excitement that his father’s big moment was near. Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, worked opposite sides of the room to Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, thanking the guests for travelling so far.
Completing the royal contingent were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, who will join the King and others on the Buckingham Palace balcony later this afternoon.
The Duke of Kent, who at 87 is due to retire in the near future in the King’s “slimmed-down monarchy”, told guests it would be a “remarkable” occasion thanks to all the intensive planning.
The King thanked guests for coming, including US First Lady Dr Jill Biden, who is here in place of the president, her husband Joe.
Dr Biden arrived in the UK shortly before midnight then yesterday spent the day with Mr Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty.
Ms Murty went with Dr Biden, a community college professor in the US, to speak with primary pupils in Central London. Later in the afternoon King Charles took advantage of the good weather to host a garden reception at Marlborough House in Westminster for the Commonwealth heads of government.
Despite a growing republicanism sentiment across the realms, especially among the Caribbean nations, that particular topic was not on the agenda, sources revealed.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chair of the Commonwealth, said: “We appreciate the King’s lifelong devotion to Commonwealth affairs just as we remember the role of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.”
The meeting came after Charles, William and Kate surprised crowds on The Mall with a walkabout.
The monarch mingled with leaders at the meeting before they all gathered in the garden for a group photograph with the Commonwealth Mace. At an evening event, again at Buckingham Palace, First lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska represented her husband Volodymyr Zelensky, who stayed at home in a country bravely defending itself against the Russian invasion.
Mr Sunak also held separate meetings with visiting world leaders.
Mr Albanese said they had discussed mutual working holiday visas and the “economic opportunities” of climate change. Mr Hipkins said they spoke about the UK/New Zealand free trade agreement. Brazilian leader Lula Da Silva said his country was ready for trade talks, and that rich nations should support poorer ones in their efforts to prevent any further deforestation.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and Mr Sunak spoke about the war in Ukraine, regional security and last year’s World Cup.
But Amnesty International said the Prime Minister should instead have pressed the emir on compensating migrant workers who built the World Cup stadiums, and the emirate’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws and “unacceptable restrictions” on free speech and women’s rights.
More than 100 heads of state will be in London for the Coronation. Representatives from 203 countries are due to attend.
French president Emmanuel Macron, the presidents of Germany and Italy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sergio Mattarella, and Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif will be among those in Westminster Abbey.
Chinese vice-president Han Zheng, who presided over a civil liberties crackdown in Hong Kong, is also on the King’s guest list, a move described as “outrageous” by some Conservative MPs.
