Queen Hosts State Banquet in Honour of the Emir of Kuwait

To celebrate the tree-day State Visit of 83-year-old Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth hosted a State Banquet in Emir’s honour at Windsor Castle. The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, and other members of the Royal Family were in attendance. Also present were Prime Minister David Cameron, George Osborne, and other dignitaries.

The Banquet held by Queen Elizabeth in honour of His Highness is one of the most prominent aspects of Windsor Castle. Held in a spectacular chamber with elaborate decorations, its main feature was undoubtedly the table made of rare kind of wood, seating 170 people. The chamber in which the banquet was held was seriously damaged during the 1992 Windsor Castle fire; luckily, however, the table was elsewhere at the time. After considerable restoration work little reminded of the 20-year-old disaster.

Laura King, the media adviser at the castle, told that Her Majesty had personally overseen all the preparations for the banquet, including the placing of senior officials and diplomats. She also supervised the flowers arrangements. To read more about the banquet, have a look at this article.

Before the banquet commenced, the Queen and the Emir made short speeches; in her speech, Her Majesty spoke of the “enduring ties” between the UK and Kuwait, while the Emir praised Britain for being “confident, creative, multi-racial, tolerant and welcoming to the world”. Once the pleasantries were over, guests dined on poached turbot, Windsor partridge and dark chocolate gateau to a background of music by Bach and a Beatles compilation. The Queen accompanied the Emir at the end of the banquet to an adjoining room for coffee.

The Banquet was a culmination of the three-day trip – the first state visit from Kuwait since 1995. The Emir was staying in Windsor Castle as a guest of Her Majesty. Her Majesty welcomed Sheikh Sabah with a glittering state procession and a guard of honour, followed by inspection of the troops.

The Emir then had a private audience with the Prince of Wales before attending a meeting of business leaders hosted by the Duke of York. The trip, aimed at cementing the strong relations between London and its oil-rich Gulf ally. Sheikh Sabah is accompanied on the trip by his finance, foreign and commerce ministers.

Filed under Kuwait, The United Kingdom
Tagged Bilateral Relations, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, State Visit, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York, The Prince of Wales, Windsor Castle.