King Charles and Queen Camilla will host Emir of Qatar and his wife at Buckingham Palace on UK state visit
The Emir of Qatar is to pay a state visit to the UK hosted by the King, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The Emir of Qatar is to pay a state visit to the UK hosted by the King, Buckingham Palace has announced.
King Charles and the Queen will welcome Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the first of his three wives, Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani, to London on December 3.
They can expect to be feted with a traditional ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade and a grand state banquet at Buckingham Palace during the two-day incoming state visit.
This comes after the King hosted a star-studded Commonwealth event at St Jamess Palace last week ahead of his forthcoming visit to Samoa.
Charles has visited Qatar eight times as the Prince of Wales and met the Emir at the Cop28 summit in Dubai in December.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to host the Emir of Qatar and his wife at Buckingham Palace at a state visit
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (centre-left) and Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani (far left) are pictured with Spains King and Queen
Charles talks with Qatars Emir Sheikh during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai last year
The Qatari leader and Sheikha Jawaher also attended the Kings coronation in Westminster Abbey, and the late Queens funeral.
Qatar - one of the richest Gulf states - is a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war and the ruling Emir is likely to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for talks at Downing Street during his stay.
But the country has faced criticism over its human rights record, in particular the abuse of migrant workers during Fifa World Cup in 2022, its criminalisation of same-sex relationships, and its discrimination against women.
The Qatari royal family is one of the richest in the world, with a reported fortune running into the billions.
Sheikh Tamim, 44, was educated in Britain, attending public schools Sherborne and Harrow, before graduating from the Sandhurst military academy.
He set up Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2005, which owns the French football team Paris Saint-Germain.
In 2022, Charles as the Prince of Wales faced criticism after being presented with cash - reportedly totalling three million euros and some of it in a suitcase - from a former Qatari prime minister between 2011 and 2015.
Charles has visited Qatar eight times as the Prince of Wales and met the Emir at the Cop28 summit in Dubai
King Charles III is pictured during a visit to the Forsinard Flows Visitor Centre in July
The Sunday Times said the then-heir to the throne personally accepted the donations for his charity the Prince of Waless Charitable Fund (PWCF) from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim - who was prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013.
Last week, it was revealed that the Kings doctors are allowing him to pause his cancer treatment in order to fly to Australia for a high-profile royal visit.
The 75-year-old monarch will undertake a significant official visit beginning on October 18, taking in Sydney and Canberra, immediately followed by a State Visit to Samoa in the South Pacific where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The Mail understands that His Majesty will continue with his ongoing cancer treatment right up until he flies but that his doctors are happy for it to be briefly stopped while he is away.
The King will then pick up with his treatment cycle as soon as he returns to the UK.
Charles,75, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of the disease in February following prostate surgery and has been receiving weekly treatment ever since.
