United Kingdom monarchs King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for a state visit at Windsor Castle from March 18 to 19, Buckingham Palace has announced.
This will be Nigeria’s first state visit to the United Kingdom in 37 years. The last was in 1989, when military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
State visits are a major tool of diplomatic soft power, using royal hospitality and ceremony to strengthen international ties. While President Tinubu has previously met the King at Buckingham Palace in September 2024 and at the COP28 summit in Dubai, this official state visit will feature the full pageantry, including a carriage procession and state banquet.
The visit highlights growing diplomatic and economic links between the two nations. Trade between the UK and Nigeria was worth over £8 billion in the year to October, making Nigeria one of the UK’s most important partners in Africa. The two countries signed a new trade and investment partnership in 2024.
King Charles has longstanding connections to Nigeria, having visited four times as the Prince of Wales in 1990, 1999, 2006, and 2018. He has expressed affection for Nigerian Pidgin English and Afrobeats music. In 2023, his charity, The King’s Trust International, launched a project in Nigeria aimed at tackling youth unemployment.
The detailed agenda for the March visit has not yet been disclosed, but it is expected to include both ceremonial events and political meetings.
