The Princess of Wales joined the royals to welcome the Emir of Qatar today as she attended her most significant public engagement since starting cancer treatment.
Kate and her husband Prince William greeted Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the first of his three wives, Sheikha Jawaher, on behalf of King Charles III in London.
She then travelled from the Emir’s private residence to the ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade. The women travelled in one chauffeur-driven car while the men travelled in another and the waiting King warmly greeted his guests on a dais.
The Princess wore a coat by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and a hat by Sahar Millinery, with a pearl necklace that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II .
Kate is carrying out even more royal duties than previously planned at today’s state visit in London amid what is being seen as a ‘positive sign’ in royal circles.
After the ceremonial welcome, Kate travelled to Buckingham Palace to join the royal party for a private lunch, staying to view a display of priceless Qatari artefacts from the Royal Collection. But she will miss this evening’s glittering State Banquet.
Meanwhile Queen Camilla has been forced to scale back her involvement due to ill health, and travelled straight to the palace today – missing the ceremonial welcome.
Camilla’s car was driven around the quadrangle to the Grand Entrance, and she smiled as she stepped from the vehicle and made her way into the palace.
Around the same time at Horse Guards Parade, Charles welcomed the Qataris for a ceremony of pomp and pageantry. A guard of honour was formed by the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards stood waiting in two ranks to be inspected by the Qataris.
The King was received at the Royal Pavilion by Sir Kenneth Olisa, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London.
The Silver Stick in Waiting, Brigadier Mark Berry, and the Field Officer in Brigade Waiting, Colonel Guy Stone, were also present.
Looking relaxed, the King spoke to guests on the royal dais including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
A Royal Salute and a trumpeter played as the procession of the Emir passed through the grand arches of the ancient Horse Guards building.
As they were welcomed by the King at the Pavilion, gun salutes were fired across London.
The 76-year-old monarch then made a number of presentations before inviting the Amir to inspect the Guard of Honour as the Qatari national anthem was played.
As they got out of their cars William affectionately placed his hand on his wife’s back while they stood on the dais.
Kate then turned to the King and offered him a deep curtsy before the five greeted officials in the line up.
More than 900 soldiers, including nearly 200 Army musicians and 100 members of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery turned out at Horse Guards in honour of the guests.
For this State Visit the format has been adjusted slightly to allow The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to play a more visible role, not least because the Emir adores his horses and passed out of Sandhurst as a young man.
A Guard of Honour was formed by the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards with The King’s Colour, accompanied by the Band of the Regiment.
After the King invited a decidedly delighted-looking Emir to inspect the Guard of Honour, William and Catherine remained on the stage chatting animatedly to the Sheikha.
The royal party then departed Horse Guards in a spectacular carriage procession, accompanied by a Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry.
Later at Buckingham Palace, the King arrived at the Grand Entrance in the Irish State Coach with his visitors to the sound of the Qatar and British national anthems.
Waiting inside in the warm in the Grand Hall was the Queen.
In the second carriage, the n State Coach, were the Prince and Princess of Wales with the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Sheikh Mohammed stepped from the carriage first, followed by William, with both turning to wait for Kate.
The princess stepped carefully from the state coach in her knee-high high heeled boots.
The Waleses walked side by side chatting to one another, with Kate carrying a small matching burgundy handbag and a pair of gloves, as they made their way up the red carpeted steps of the Grand Entrance.
More pomp and pageantry awaited as they arrived at the Palace to a second Guard of Honour and a rendition of both the British and Qatari national anthem.
Camilla was waiting inside to greet her guests but did not step outside because of her illnesses.
Former economist Sheikh Mohammed is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Qatari royal family. He has been prime minister since 2023 and is distantly related to the Emir.
In the palace quadrangle in formation was a Guard of Honour from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in their grey greatcoats and bearskin hats with the Band of the Irish Guards.
A dismounted Detachment of Household Cavalry stood either side of the Grand Entrance.
A royal source described the announcement of Kate’s attendance as ‘good news’ as the Princess continues with her a slow and measured return to public life after the completion of her preventative chemotherapy treatment.
The Princess announced in March that she had embarked on a course of treatment after doctors found evidence of the disease after major abdominal surgery in January.
In September she revealed that this had now been completed but warned that it would take time and patience for her to return to full-time royal duties.
Now, today’s events mark the start of a busier week for Kate, who will be hosting her annual Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey on Friday.
The Princess is expected to be joined at that event by her husband Prince William and children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
But Camilla has pulled out of today’s welcome at Horse Guards Parade on doctor’s advice because she is still suffering from the ‘lingering’ side-effects of a ‘nasty viral chest infection’.
The 77-year-old royal, who fell ill a month ago, is said to be feeling particularly ‘fatigued’ – but she will attend the lunch at Buckingham Palace and most elements of the State Banquet this evening.
So as not to exhaust her, she will greet their VIP guests and pose for photographs before retiring during a lengthy receiving line, but then join the dinner itself.
As for Camilla, sources stressed there was no cause for alarm, describing her as having had a ‘nasty viral chest infection’ which continues to ‘have some lingering side effects, in particular leaving Her Majesty with significantly diminished reserves of energy.’
As a result, they said, her doctors have advised some ‘tweaks’ to her programme.
Her decision not to join the King at Horse Guards Parade for a full ceremonial welcome and open-air carriage drive back to Buckingham Palace on a cold morning was a sensible precaution given the nature of her illness, they stressed.
Her diagnosis was first announced almost a month ago on November 5 when it emerged that she had been forced to pull out of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, followed by other events over the weekend, including the Cenotaph, to honour the nation’s war dead.
As the daughter of a twice-decorated Second World War veteran, such duties are taken very seriously by the Queen – and her absence was a sign of how poorly she was feeling, sources close to her told the Mail.
Camilla has undertaken several public engagements since then, including the annual diplomatic reception, but has sometimes curtailed her time spent in public.
At a reception to honour the UK’s film and television industry last month, the Queen discreetly coughed several times during her shortened appearance and gratefully sipped on a glass of water, saying she had felt ‘absolutely rotten’ last week but was definitely ‘on the mend’.
Sources have stressed there has been ‘no alteration’ in any diagnosis or treatment being received, stressing Her Majesty just needs time to ‘rest and recover fully, which is more challenging with a back-to back diary programme such as the state visit’.
No substantial changes to her other diary commitments are expected the rest of the week, though each day is being taken as it comes.
Guidance from her medical team suggests that in such cases post-viral fatigue symptoms can come and go and persist for several weeks.
At tonight’s state banquet, Camilla will join photographs with the Emir and Sheikha Jawaher, but then retire briefly during the lengthy receiving line.
She will then attend the dinner as planned and join the King for the official farewells tomorrow.
Camilla has been praised for the way she has stepped up this year on behalf of her husband, after he was diagnosed with cancer at the start of the year and has continued to undergo treatment. Sources have described her as a ‘trooper’.
Today’s state visit is considered one of the highlights of the royal calendar and a show of royal ‘soft diplomacy’ in action.
Senior Qatari diplomats have told the Mail that they are ‘deeply honoured’ the King has chosen their country as the first Middle Eastern state to be invited for a full state visit to the UK since Charles’ accession.
The country enjoys a good relationship with the UK diplomatically, with the Emir, 44, having studied in Britain – first at Sherborne and then Harrow – followed by a stint at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
There remains great admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Charles has met with the Emir on several occasions.
The two countries also have strong trade, cultural and military links, and Qatar is a major investor in the UK, not just through property and construction projects, but in science and technology.
However concerns have been raised about the authoritarian nature of the Qatari ruling family and human rights, particularly as regards migrant workers.
The Emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will be bringing his first wife – and second cousin – Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad Al Thani, with him on the visit.
She is the mother of four of his 13 children and normally accompanies him on official visits abroad. He also has two subsequent spouses.
The couple landed in the UK at London Stansted Airport yesterday where they were greeted on behalf of the sovereign by the Lord in Waiting, The Viscount Hood.
Today they were officially welcomed by William and Kate at their residence, before being escorted to Horse Guards Parade where the King waited for the ceremonial welcome.
National anthems were played and the Emir was invited to inspect a Guard of Honour.
The royal party then returned in a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch followed by an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection Trust and Turquoise Mountain charity relating to Qatar.
William will later receive the Emir at Kensington Palace before the evening’s state banquet, which he will attend but not his wife.
Tomorrow, the final day of the two-day visit, the Emir will visit Sandhurst before travelling to the Palace to bid farewell formally to the King.
Sheikh Tamim will also travel to Downing Street for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Kate has attended a number of high profile events such as Trooping the Colour, Remembrance Sunday and Wimbledon over the last 11 months since she effectively withdrew from public life to focus on her health.
But today’s appearance will be her most significant so far given that she will be playing a far more active role in events and be seen in public for a lengthy period of time.
Royal-watchers will be delighted at the news that Kate is taking a further step forward as part of her staggered return to full-time royal duties.
In September she spoke of her ‘relief’ at having finally completed her chemotherapy treatment, but stressed that the last nine months had been ‘incredibly tough’ for them as a family.
She was first admitted to hospital in January for what has only been described as major abdominal surgery.
However afterwards doctors found evidence that cancer had been present and recommended a course of preventative chemotherapy.
The couple chose to keep the news private for several weeks in order to come to terms with the news and protect their children, before the princess bravely went public with her diagnosis in March.
Talking of the ‘complex, scary and unpredictable nature’ of cancer journeys, Catherine said recently that doing what she could to ‘stay cancer free is now my focus’ and emphasised that her path to full recovery would be ‘long’.
The Princess said she would undertake a few more public engagements in the coming months when she could but stressed that her focus would remain on her continued recovery and her young family.