Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his wife begin a week-long visit to Britain on Saturday and are due to visit Oxford University, where they both studied, and attend a state dinner with King Charles, but are not scheduled to meet Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako were scheduled to visit in 2020 while Queen Elizabeth was still alive, but the visit was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The couple’s first overseas trip together since ascending to the throne will be to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022. Ahead of the state visit, Emperor Naruhito, 64, spoke of the kindness he received from the British royal family when he visited Britain to study in the early 1980s.
“The warm hospitality I received from Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family is a fond memory that made me feel like I was part of the family,” she said at a press conference in Tokyo.
The monarch’s visit will be his third official visit under Prince Charles’ reign, but his first since it was revealed earlier this year that the monarch had been diagnosed with cancer.
Emperor Naruhito said he was grateful that the emperor welcomed the prince and his party despite his illness, and he also sent congratulations to Kate, Prince William’s wife and Prince Charles’ daughter-in-law, who is undergoing preventive chemotherapy for cancer. “I know that you are both going through a difficult time, but I wish you both good luck with your treatment and a speedy recovery,” Emperor Naruhito said.
The official purpose of the visit is to celebrate the long-standing ties between the two royal families and demonstrate the deep ties between the two countries, but the Japanese members are also using it as an opportunity to return to Oxford University, where they both studied separately, and Emperor Naruhito is due to visit the Thames flood wall where he studied at university.
The visit coincides with campaigning for the July 4 British election, and a Japanese foreign ministry official said no meeting with the prime minister was planned.
The official part of the state visit will begin on Tuesday when Prince William will formally welcome His Majesty the Emperor, followed by a carriage procession along the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where a state banquet will be held.
During his trip, the Prince will also make a private visit to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and lay a wreath at Queen Elizabeth’s tomb.
