Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from royal duties six years ago, with the couple having taken on only quasi-royal visits since then. The couple stepped out in Nottingham last week, just weeks after their return to the UK. As the couple settle back into life in the UK with their children, King Charles and Queen Camilla continue to undertake royal engagements as usual, with the latest set to take place today.
The royal couple will welcome the Sultan of Oman to the UK today, with the visit taking place at Windsor Castle rather than Buckingham Palace. Sultan Haitham bin Tarik is visiting Britain between October 20 and October 22.
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While he has met the King several times before, including during a private visit to Britain last year, this will be his first official state visit to the country. The last time an Omani sultan made a state visit to Britain was in 1982, when the late Queen Elizabeth II was reigning monarch.
The state visit this week will come with all the usual pomp and pageantry that state visits here in the UK offer. The Sultan of Oman will receive a formal welcome from King Charles and Queen Camilla on the Royal Dais on Dachetr Road in Windsor.
A carriage procession will then take the royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, to Windsor Castle. They are then expected to receive a Royal Salute by a Guard of Honour in the Quadrangle of the Castle.
Tatler reports that the royals will listen as the regimental band plays the Omani and British National Anthems, before they inspect the guard and view a military parade. The royals will then have lunch in the State Dining Room, where other royals are expected to be present, before a special exhibition of Oman-related items in the Green Drawing Room.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will host a state banquet for the Sultan of Oman later tonight. Other members of the Royal Family will also attend, including Prince William and Princess Catherine.
