Britain’s King Charles will host Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife for a state visit later in June, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday, providing details of the three-day trip in the latest sign of the monarch’s health after his cancer diagnosis.
Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, will be greeted by heir to the throne Prince William on June 25 before a state banquet at Buckingham Palace held by Charles, his wife Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family.
The occasion will be the first state visit hosted by Charles, 75, since he returned to work at the end of April, almost three months after Buckingham Palace announced he was being treated for an unspecified type of cancer.
While William will be involved in the state visit, his wife, Kate was not mentioned by Buckingham Palace in the plans for the trip, as she continues with her course of preventive chemotherapy for cancer.
During the trip, the emperor will tour Westminster Abbey, inspect the Guard of Honour, visit Britain’s flagship biomedical research centre, The Francis Crick Institute, and head to St George’s Chapel, Windsor, to lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth, the king’s mother.
Buckingham Palace first announced the Japanese state visit in April.
