As per tradition with State Visits, The King and Queen hosted the Qatar State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, where they were joined by members of the Royal Family.
Following a ceremonial welcome at Horseguards Parade, and a lunch at the palace, the group were joined by 200 guests for a feast in the Ballroom. The Banquet saw members of the Royal Family dress up to the max in glitz and glamour, donning tiaras from the royal vaults, while the men wore white tie.
The Qatar State Banquet took place at Buckingham Palace. (Royal Family)
The evening’s menu included: a ‘light tartlet of Cornish lobster with quails eggs and organic salad leaves’ to start, followed by a main course of ‘supreme of Windsor pheasant wrapped in savoy cabbage, roasted celeriac puree, gratinated potatoes with a soft creamy cheese from Suffolk, truffle sauce and a selection of winter vegetables’. Dessert was an ‘iced bombe with organic Samoan vanilla ice cream and Balmoral plum sorbet’.
Wines included: Chapel Down Grand Reserve 2018 Puligny-Montrachet Les Nosroyes, Domaine Génot-Boulanger 2019 Chateau Lynch Bages, Pauillac 2000 and Château La Tour Blanche, 1er Cru Sauternes 2001.
Music to accompany this evening’s State Banquet was performed by The Hiraeth String Quartet which is composed of talented students from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. The King’s Harpist, Mared Pugh-Evans, also performed.
The ballroom was decorated with a range of seasonal flowers and foliage in red, to reflect the colours of the Qatari flag, arranged in silver-gilt centrepieces taken from the Grand Service from Windsor Home Park and the Orchard Garden at the glasshouses in Windsor. The flowers are then donated the next day to hospices, care home and shelters via Floral Angels, one of Queen Camilla’s Patronages.
The finishing touches are applied to the tables in the Ballroom of Buckingham Palace, London prior to the State Banquet for the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during his state visit to the UK. pic.twitter.com/N4FrQnyraw
— Aaron Chown (@aaronchown) December 3, 2024
A few notes on the fashion of the evening. The Queen chose a red velvet evening dress made by Fiona Clare, alongside the sash and star of the Order of the Garter, Elizabeth II’s Royal Family Order and Charles III’s Royal Family Order, which was first debuted during the Japanese State Banquet in June 2024. Camilla paired her outfit with some sparkle – the late Queen’s City of London Fringe Necklace and Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Qatar State Banquet marked the first time in which The Duchess of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Gloucester wore Charles III’s Royal Family Order, as well as Elizabeth II’s Royal Family Order. This honour is bestowed upon female members of the Royal Family as a personal gift from the Sovereign, in recognition of their work to support the Monarchy.
The Duchess of Edinburgh wore a Suzannah dress, paired with her Aquamarine necklace tiara, whilst The Princess Royal wore her Aquamarine Pineflower tiara.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Princess of Wales was not in attendance for tonight’s Qatar State Banquet due to her steady return to Royal duties following her completion of chemotherapy as announced in September. She did, however, attend the Ceremonial Welcome earlier today at Horse Guards.
In his speech during the State Banquet, The King began by telling the Amir that it gave him the ‘great possible pleasure’ to welcome him to the palace.
Adding that ‘In many ways, this evening might be seen as a homecoming, Your Highness is no stranger to these shores, having spent so much of your younger years at three of our most renowned institutions: Sherborne, Harrow and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Your many visits since then have served as a testament to the close personal ties that bind our nations and our families.’
At the Qatar State Banquet, The King praised Qatar’s invaluable role in ‘navigating the challenges of recent years’ from ‘supporting evacuations from Afghanistan, to helping to keep the world moving in some of the darkest days of the pandemic’ and stressed the country’s ‘humanity, vision and leadership’ are important and matter.
‘Your Highnesses’ visit comes at another moment of great global change. We are living through significant turbulence, the climate emergency, and the white heat of a scientific and technological revolution. Just as our parents served and worked so hard to confront the challenges of their ages, so too must we. And at such times of uncertainty and upheaval, old friendships assume even greater importance’.
His Majesty expressed the UK’s ‘deepest gratitude’ for their ‘mediation efforts over the past year in pursuit of peace, in the face of unbearable heartache and suffering’. The pursuit of peace is a duty that we all share, according to The King, and that the UK stands with Qatar in being commitment ‘to a world where peace and justice prevail over division’.
‘So, as we work together to address the immediate and urgent issues of the day, I take some comfort in the knowledge that our governments are also collaborating to tackle the most pressing shared threats to humanity: climate change and biodiversity loss. On clean energy, our joint initiatives are paving the way for a much less polluted future, one where economic growth and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.
‘I am greatly encouraged to know that we are embarking on a partnership that will, over the next 20 years, place our nations jointly at the forefront of clean energy technology development’.
The King also hailed the UK and Qatar’s work on science and technology, stating that ‘British and Qatari researchers and clinicians are working together on cutting-edge projects that have the potential to transform our world’. The work includes ‘genomics, where experts are developing unique models to identify rare disease at an early stage’.
Charles III celebrated the enduring and exceptional partnership between Qatar and the UK, underscoring the strength of their relationship across defence, diplomacy, and shared values saying that ‘from Sandhurst to Al Dukkan Airbase, our great defence institutions are animated by Qatari and British officers living and working in partnership. The Joint Squadrons we have are truly unique: the only such units that the Royal Air Force has maintained globally since the Second World War’.
The 76-year-old Monarch concluded his speech by saying that he was ‘filled with optimism about the possibilities that lie ahead for our two great nations. Whatever new challenges and opportunities emerge, I am confident that we will meet them together. In that spirit, I would like to propose a toast: to Your Highnesses, to the enduring friendship between the State of Qatar and the United Kingdom, and to the continued prosperity and well-being of our peoples’.
The Prince of Wales receives the Amir of the State of Qatar at Kensington Palace. (Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)
Before this evening’s State Banquet, The Prince of Wales received the Amir of the State of Qatar at Kensington Palace. Historically, the heir to the throne hosted the guest Head of State at a royal residence for a meeting. Prior to Charles’ accession in 2022, this is a role the then-Prince of Wales carried out at Clarence House.
These meetings give the Heir an opportunity to represent the British Monarchy and to contribute to fostering diplomatic ties between the UK and the visiting country.
