The Royal Family's first official state visit of 2026 is finally underway, with King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales leading the way in welcoming guests.
William and Kate, 44, led the morning's welcome, greeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, at the Fairmont Windsor Park Hotel. They met the King and Queen at Datchet Road, before a ceremonial carriage procession to Windsor Castle.
However, there is one traditional aspect of this week's state visit that is different from usual, as there will be no welcome lunch. This is because the President is a Muslim and is fasting for Ramadan. The two-day state visit falls at the end of the holy month, during which many Muslims fast and refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset.
The programme has been specially adapted, with the King receiving the president during an audience in the afternoon instead of hosting the usual welcome lunch.
Mr Tinubu will break his fast privately at sunset on Wednesday before joining the King, Queen, and some 160 guests for the glittering nighttime state banquet in St George’s Hall. The formal lunch typically involves a sit-down meal with members of the royal family in the state dining room, as seen in the US state visit in September 2025.
© Chris Jackson/coolGetty ImagesA landmark visit
President Tinubu’s stay is the first incoming state visit by a Muslim leader during Ramadan in nearly 100 years.
In 1928, Charles’s great-grandfather King George V hosted King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan, for a three-day state visit from March 13-15, with Ramadan falling between February 22 and March 22 that year.
© Chris Jackson/coolGetty ImagesThere are no known records showing whether or not King Amanullah observed Ramadan. Eid-al-Fitr – the Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan – is believed to begin on Thursday evening, when the president and his wife will depart the UK. Mrs Tinubu is a Christian and an ordained Pentecostal pastor.
What can we expect from this week's state visit?
On Wednesday, the King, the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed the Nigerian president to Windsor at the start of the first state visit to the UK by the West African nation in nearly 40 years.
Green and white Nigerian flags lined the streets, alongside Union flags, and a celebratory oversized Royal Standard was flying from the top of Windsor Castle’s Round Tower.
The Princess opted for diplomatic royal dressing by wearing a tailored grey coat dress with a white collar and buttons by young British-Nigerian fashion designer Tolu Coker.
During the afternoon, they will view items from the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, before a state banquet in the evening led by the King, Queen and other members of the royal family. On Thursday, the King and Queen will bid farewell to their guests at Windsor Castle, before they depart the UK in the evening.
