Queen Camilla and King Charles attend a reception for Kenyan diaspora at Buckingham Palace before their state visit to the African country next week.Photo:Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
King CharlesandQueen Camillaare looking back atQueen Elizabeth’s special connection to Kenya before their state visit next week.
On Tuesday, the royal couple welcomed the Kenyan diaspora to Buckingham Palace for a reception celebrating the relationship between the countries and the future ahead. King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 76, chatted with professionals from business, media, charity, art, sports, government and the military, plus representatives from their patronages in Kenya.
The African country is uniquely part of Queen Elizabeth’saccession storyand modern royal history. Charles’ mother was on a Commonwealth tour there in 1952 when she learned that her father, King George VI, died in his sleep, making her monarch of the United Kingdom and its related realms at age 25.
Queen Camilla and King Charles attend a reception for Kenyan diaspora at Buckingham Palace before their state visit to the African country next week.Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
“Sweet moment as The King reminisces over a photograph of Treetops, the iconic Kenyan hideaway where his late mother became Queen,” the royal reporter wrote onX, posting footage of the sovereign’s stop with Queen Camilla.
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrive at Sagana Lodge in Kenya on February 5, 1952.Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty
The following day, the party received a telegram that the King died in his sleep at age 56. It wasPrince Philipwho broke the news to his wife in the gardens.
The new sovereign’s armed escort Jim Corbett famously wrote in the Treetops logbook: “For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into the tree as a princess and climbed down as a queen.”
The Duke of Edinburgh’s cousin Lady Pamela Hicks, a bridesmaid at his wedding to Princess Elizabeth, was a witness to history during the fateful trip.
“My mother remembered very clearly that when she heard the news, she paced up and down, up and down with Philip and the ladies-in-waiting and the private secretary,” Lady Pamela’s daughter India Hickspreviously told PEOPLE.
“Finally when the Queen had gathered herself, she said, ‘I’m so sorry, but we are going to have to go back to England,’ " said Hicks. “That was so indicative of the Queen that she would have apologized for something like that. They all said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ "
“My mother gave her a hug and suddenly remembered, ‘This is my Queen,’ and dropped into a deep curtsy,” she added. Queen Elizabeth, who went on to have a historic 70-year reign, was formally crowned a little more than a year later on June 2, 1953.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on her coronation day, June 2, 1953.Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Years later,Queen ElizabethandPrince Philiprevisited Treetops in November 1983 during a 16-day official state tour of Kenya, Bangladesh and India.
The historic safari lodge closed in 2021 after tourist revenue dropped 90% in Kenya due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Kenya Wildlife Service said at the time. The lodge had not hosted a visitor for more than a year, Kenya’s tourism ministry confirmed toThe Times.
Two weeks ago, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles and Queen Camillawould travel to Kenyafrom October 31 to November 3. The visit marks the couple’s first state visit to a Commonwealth country since Charles became King following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth at age 96 last September.
King Charles attends a reception for Kenyan diaspora at Buckingham Palace on October 24.Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
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King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to Kenya will come roughly two months after theirmini-tour to France, which had been postponed since March amid unrest over changes in pensions for French workers.
Queen Camilla and King Charles attend a state banquet at the Palace of Versailles on September 20 during their state visit to France.Chris Jackson/Getty
Chris Jackson/Getty
source: people.com
