Prince William stepped in for King Charles to welcome Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the UK for a state visit, taking on a key royal duty as the monarch hosted the visiting leader.
The 44-year-old Prince of Wales greeted the Sultan at his London residence on Tuesday, October 20, following his arrival in Britain the previous day, before accompanying him to Windsor for a formal welcome from King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Kate joined her husband and the King and Queen at the Royal Dais on Datchet Road as part of the official welcome for the visiting Sultan.
For the occasion, the Princess of Wales wore a dark green coat by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, the designer who created her wedding dress in 2011.
She completed the elegant ensemble with a Juliette Botterill hat.
The state visit was commemorated with gun salutes at Windsor’s Home Park and the Tower of London, approximately 40 miles apart.
The Prince and Princess of Wales then accompanied the King, Queen and Sultan on a horse-drawn carriage ride through Windsor to Windsor Castle.
King Charles and the Sultan rode in the Irish State Coach, while Queen Camilla travelled with the deputy prime minister for defense and Kate and William shared the Australian State Coach with two members of the Sultan’s royal entourage.
At Windsor Castle, the national anthems of Oman and the UK were played before the Sultan and King Charles inspected the Guard of Honour and joined the royals to watch a military march past.
The King and other royals will host the Sultan for lunch after the formal reception, before presenting him with a selection of historic Royal Collection items linked to Oman in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
A white-tie state banquet will take place at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Hall that evening.
The royals will bid farewell to the Sultan on Wednesday, October 21, before he meets British Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London and attends a Guildhall banquet with the Duke of Gloucester.
