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The senior British royalshosted their first state banquet of the yearon Wednesday evening, honoring Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu. However, whilePrince Edwardwas in attendance for the formal dinner at Windsor Castle, his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, appeared to have missed the event.
Known as one of the hardest working members of the royal family, the Duchess has had a very busy schedule lately. Just last week,Sophie made a quiet visit to New Yorkto attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meeting. That was right after traveling to Italy with Prince Edward, where they were supporting British athletes at the 2026 Winter Paralympics. The Duke of Edinburghhas served as patron of the British Paralympic Associationsince 2003. However, being in Cortina, the coupledid miss Commonwealth Day servicesat Westminster Abbey on Monday with the rest of the senior British royals.
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This is the first state visit by a Nigerian head-of-stateto the United Kingdom in 37 years. The most recent occasion was in 1989 when General Ibrahim Babangida, who took power ofthe country in 1985 in a bloodless coup, met with Queen Elizabeth during a four-day visit. Today's state banquet also started later than usual as this was the first time since 1928 that the British royal family has hosted a Muslim head of state during Ramadan.
TheNigerian state visit concludeswith tonight's dinner. King Charles and Queen Camilla—wearing a familiar headpiece, the Belgian Sapphire Tiara—led the traditional procession into the gala dinner with Nigeria's first couple. Also in attendance were thePrincess of Wales in her favorite Lover's Knot tiara, Princess Anne in the Meander Tiara, and the Duchess of Gloucester in Queen Mary's Iveagh Tiara.
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