The King is rolling out the red carpet for the first UK state visit by a leader of the West African nation in 37 years, and the first by a Muslim leader during Ramadan in almost a century.
Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, will begin their two-day state visit on Wednesday, before Charles hosts a state banquet in St George’s Hall in their honour, attended by the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
William and Kate will be on duty during the day, greeting the president and his wife at the luxury spa hotel Fairmont Windsor Park, on the edge of Windsor Great Park, in the morning and escorting them to the town centre to formally meet the King and Camilla.
The King, the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Mr and Mrs Tinubu will then travel in a carriage procession in a show of traditional pomp and pageantry through Windsor to the castle’s quadrangle to see the Guard of Honour for the ceremonial welcome.
Thames Valley Police said extensive security measures are being deployed in the Berkshire town, as the event takes place against an international backdrop of the deepening Middle East crisis.
The grand royal occasion comes less than a month after the King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on suspicion of sharing confidential reports with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, amid the ongoing scandal facing the monarchy.
The Sun reported that removal vans were seen at Andrew’s new home, Marsh Farm on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, on Monday, prompting speculation the disgraced former prince was preparing to relocate from his temporary home at Wood Farm.
The president and the first lady arrived in the UK on Tuesday on a Nigerian Air Force flight as scheduled, and were met at Stansted Airport by the deputy lieutenant of Essex, Mark Bevan, on behalf of the King.
Their visit went ahead despite suicide bombings in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno state on Monday, which killed 23 people and injured more than 100.
Mr Tinubu condemned the “evil-minded” terror groups and said he mourned those who lost their lives, saying “Nigeria will not succumb to fear”.
The last Nigerian state visit to the UK was in 1989, when Queen Elizabeth II welcomed military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida to London.
This time, the two-day visit falls at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which many Muslims fast and refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset – so there will be no traditional lunch with the King in the castle for the president during the day.
The programme has been specially adapted, and Charles will receive the president during an audience in the afternoon instead of hosting the usual welcome lunch.
In 1928, Charles’s great-grandfather King George V hosted King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan, for a three-day state visit from March 13-15, when Ramadan fell between February 22 and March 22 that year.
There are no known records showing whether or not King Amanullah observed Ramadan.
Mr Tinubu will break his fast privately at sunset on Wednesday before joining the King and Queen for the nighttime state banquet.
The first lady, who is known as Remi, is a Christian and an ordained Pentecostal pastor.
Eid-al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, begins on Thursday evening, when the president and his wife will leave the UK.
The King will also join the president and first lady in the castle’s Vicars’ Hall to meet organisations working on interfaith dialogue, on Wednesday.
Today, I honour and celebrate every mother across Nigeria. Your love, care and sacrifices do not go unnoticed.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 15, 2026
Beyond the big sacrifices, it is the small, quiet moments that truly define a mother’s love. On this special day, we carry those moments in our hearts and say thank for… pic.twitter.com/xZHIWtfQEE
The Nigerian leader’s stay, aimed at strengthening the UK’s position as a global hub for African business, coincides with the Department for Business and Trade’s announcement that hundreds of new jobs are to be created as a series of Nigerian companies scale up their operations in the UK.
In 2024, the King’s son, the Duke of Sussex, carried out a quasi-royal tour to Nigeria with the Duchess of Sussex, after Meghan disclosed she was 43 per cent Nigerian after a genealogy test.
Mrs Tinubu was later accused of criticising Meghan’s choice of outfits when she gave a speech reprimanding young Nigerian women for dressing indecently and accusing them of mimicking “film stars from America”.
“They don’t know where they come from. Why did Meghan come here, looking for Africa? That is something we have to take home with. We know who we are and don’t lose who you are,” she said.
The first lady’s office said she was not talking about Meghan’s outfits, but that she “meant Meghan appreciates the people we are and hence her coming here”.
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