Emperor Naruhito and his wife begin a week-long visit to the United Kingdom this Saturday, during which they will visit Oxford University, where they both studied, and attend a dinner with King Charles, but no formal meeting with Prime Minister Rishi. Sunak.
Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako were due to visit in 2020 when Queen Elizabeth was alive, but that was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
Their first overseas trip after Naruhito ascended the throne was for Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022. Ahead of that state visit, the 64-year-old monarch spoke of the kindness shown to him by the British royal family when he came to England to study in the early 1980s.
He recalled the late Queen inviting him to Buckingham Palace for tea.
“The warm hospitality I have received from Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family has been very pleasant to me and I feel like a part of the family,” he said at a press conference in Tokyo.
Naruhito was greeted by officials on his arrival at London’s Stansted Airport on Saturday afternoon.
The emperor’s visit will be the third state visit of Charles’ reign, and the British monarch was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
Before the visit, Naruhito thanked the king for welcoming them despite his illness and sent his best wishes to Charles’ niece Kate, the wife of Crown Prince William, who is undergoing preventive chemotherapy against cancer.
“I understand that they are both going through a difficult time, but I pray that the treatment goes well and that they recover quickly,” he said.
The official reason for the visit is to celebrate the long relationship between the two royal families and to showcase the deep bond between the two countries.
Japanese royalty also get the chance to return to Oxford, where they both studied at different times. Naruhito will visit the Thames River flood barrier, which he studied while at university.
The visit clashes with the campaign for Britain’s July 4 election, and a Japanese foreign ministry official said there were no plans for a meeting with the prime minister.
During the visit, Naruhito will personally visit St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and lay a wreath at Queen Elizabeth’s grave.
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