Prince William and Kate greeted by Camilla for state visit

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Queen Camilla was spotted sharing a laugh with Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales while King Charles welcomed South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at Horse Guards Parade. After shaking hands with the South African leader, Camilla can be seen smiling from ear to ear as the Prince and Princess of Wales walk towards the podium. She then moved closer to the royal couple to apparently crack a joke, leaving Kate and William in stitches.

The trio quickly resumed their royal duties and remained silent to listen to the Scots Guards play the South African and British national anthems before the group headed to Buckingham Palace.

The South African President is due to visit Westminster Abbey before attending a banquet hosted by the King at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening.

President Ramaphose is the first international leader to be treated to a state visit to Britain in more than three years after all official engagements were impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mr Ramaphosa was greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales at his hotel in London earlier on Tuesday before being escorted to Horse Guards Parade for the ceremonial welcome with the King.

Among the politicians present at Horse Guards were Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Home Secretary Suella Braverman who watched the President and the King inspecting soldiers from the Coldstream Guards.

More than 1,000 soldiers and 230 horses lined up on the parade ground in central London as part of the traditional opening of a state visit.

The two-day trip is the first state visit to the UK by a world leader since that of former US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania in 2019.

Mr Ramaphosa will follow the tradition of visiting Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela. 

The King will then host a white-tie banquet at Buckingham Palace for Mr Ramaphosa where both men will give speeches.

The 74-year-old monarch deployed the customary pomp and circumstance as Britain seeks to bolster its ties with its top trading partner in Africa and show the importance of links with Commonwealth countries. 

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Reuters: “This is a reinforcement of the strong bilateral relationship that we have with South Africa, a real opportunity to build on that close working relationship and discuss some of the issues that affect us all.”

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Mr Ramaphosa’s visit comes as he faces backlash at home over South African unemployment levels and a return to power outages affecting households, businesses and schools across the country. 

The South African President is also in the grip of a potentially explosive corruption scandal known as “farmgate” in which he is accused of allegedly covering up a robbery that took place at his private farm, Phala Phala, back in February 2020.

The investigation could cost him his bid to get re-elected in 2024, as his party is set to pick its presidential candidate for the upcoming election this year.

The President is hoping to use the state visit to drum up support for British businesses to invest in South Africa’s economic development and industries.

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