The Japanese Imperial Couple are on a state visit to Great Britain

King Charles III welcomes Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako to Buckingham Palace. It was the first Japanese state visit in two decades.

June 26, 2024 | 00:19 minutes

Charles' sister Princess Anne will not be able to attend the reception. He continues to be monitored at a clinic after an incident with a horse in his private garden. The 73-year-old has no memory of Sunday's incident, in which he suffered minor injuries and a concussion, British media reported. On Tuesday, her husband Tim Lawrence visited her at the hospital for lunch. “He's fine, thank you very much,” he said later. The couple is grateful for the expert care and deeply touched by the well wishes. “It means a lot to us.”

The three-day official visit ends on Thursday. Finally, the Emperor will lay a wreath at Queen Elizabeth II's grave at Windsor Castle.

The imperial couple already landed in the British capital on Saturday and have attended several private meetings since then. Naruhito began his trip by visiting the Thames Flood Barrier, whose retractable gates prevent North Sea storm surges from flooding London.

The emperor was already interested in the river in the heart of the British capital as a young man. While a student at Oxford some 40 years ago, he studied the Thames trade in the 18th century, which he describes in his memoirs, “The Thames and I.” During that time he developed a fondness for Great Britain and the British and got to know life outside the palace walls. Back then, the future emperor still went to the bank in person, did his own ironing and pub crawl.

After completing their official visit, the Emperor and Empress intend to visit their former colleges at Oxford University before departing on Friday.