Today marked the beginning of the two-day State Visit from The Amir of the State of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani.
It marks one of the final engagements of 2024 before the Royal Family pause for the Christmas period, in which has been a turbulent years for the Royals, with The King and The Princess of Wales being diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the year.
The Qatar State Visit began with The Prince and Princess of Wales greeting The Amir and Her Highness at their hotel in London.
The Prince and Princess of Wales greet The Amir and Sheikha Jawaher at their residence, on behalf of The King, at the beginning of the Qatar State Visit. (Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)
For the occasion, The Princess of Wales opted to wear a vintage coat by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and jewellery that belonged to the late Queen, including the Four-Row Japanese pearl choker.
The choker includes four rows of pearls with a central diamond clasp in a curved shape. Each side features three rows of diamonds that join at the top and bottom with marquise diamonds. In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II loaned it for the first time to The Princess. She also wore the same necklace to the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in 2021 and Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.
The Prince wore a black suit and coat paired with a dark red tie, a similar colour to his wife’s outfit.
The Prince greets The Amir at the start of State Visit Qatar. (Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)
The Princess of Wales’ attendance was confirmed by Buckingham Palace last week, as she continues her steady return to royal duties. In September, Catherine said her journey isn’t over yet and her ‘path to healing and full recovery is long’ and she must take each day as it comes but is ‘looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months’. However, she did make an appearance at Remembrance at the Cenotaph last month.
William and Catherine then escorted Their Highnesses to Horse Guards Parade for the Ceremonial Welcome with The King.
Their Highnesses were warmly greeted by King Charles III at the Royal Pavilion, which had been decorated with the flags of the UK and Qatar. The British Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary were also present for the events at Horse Guards.
The Queen was not present for the Welcome following the announcement from Buckingham Palace that Her Majesty would have to make adjustments to her attendance for part of the Qatar State Visit due to suffering from lingering effects of a chest infection. As such, Camilla was not present for the Ceremonial Welcome. The Queen’s chest infection has seen her have to withdraw from a number of engagements over the last couple of weeks, including the Festival of Remembrance event and Remembrance Sunday at The Cenotaph.
The King and The Amir of the State of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani wait to inspect a Guard of Honour formed of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, as part of the State Visit. (Defence Imagery)
Presentations were made, the Guard of Honour gave a Royal Salute and the Qatari National Anthem was played.
Also present at Horse Guards was The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, which is quite an unusual sight during a State Visit. However, due to The Emir’s love for horses it was felt the The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery should be visible during such an occasion.
The Amir, accompanied by The King, then inspected the Guard of Honour, formed of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, with the Band of the Regiment.
The Amir and Her Highness and members of the Royal family then travelled along The Mall in carriages pulled by horses from the Royal Mews.
The Irish State Coach State Carriage carried The King, The Amir and Sheikha Jawaher.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Qatari Prime Minister followed in the Australian State Coach.
The carriages arrived at Buckingham Palace, where members of the Royal Family and The Amir and Her Highness were met by a second Guard of Honour formed of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards with the Band of the Irish Guards. As the carriages arrived the Palace, the Band of the Irish Guards played the Qatari and British National Anthems.
The group went on to have a private lunch, which Queen Camilla was present for. Speaking at the Palace, Her Majesty reportedly told guests that she’s had pneumonia, with one of the after-effects being fatigue. The diagnosis explains why she has been having to withdrawn from engagements in recent weeks.
The exchanging of gifts also took place, with The Amir giving King Charles a number of gifts, including a limestone and blue sodalite side table with geometric shell & brass inlays, with the design being inspired by the decoration of the Amiri Diwan building. The King gave The Amir a hand knotted prayer mat, which was woven from Ghazni wool by Afghan women weavers from Bamiyan for Turquoise Mountain.
Sheikha Jawaher gave Queen Camilla a multi-stranded necklace of pearls. In turn, Queen Camilla gave Sheikha Jawaher a silver and blue enamel round pill box, engraved with her Royal cypher.
In the afternoon, The Amir, Her Highness and members of the Royal Family will view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection Trust and Turquoise Mountain Foundation relating to the Qatar, as is per tradition for these visits.
