President William Ruto flies out of the country on Friday evening, May 5 to the United Kingdom (UK) ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6.
This is according to a statement by State House spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed who revealed that the trip to the UK was following an invitation sent to him by the King.
“President William Ruto will be departing the country this evening to join other world leaders at the coronation of King Charles III in the United Kingdom on Saturday.
“At the invitation of the King, President Ruto will attend the historic event to be held at Westminster Abbey and presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby,” the statement read in part.
The trip is part of a four-day state visit to Europe and the Middle East. The following day, the Head of State will make an official visit to The Netherlands for a series of bilateral meetings that include a meeting with His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands.
During the visit, Kenya and the Netherlands will explore new areas of cooperation and strengthen existing partnerships between the two countries in critical areas such as trade and investment, development cooperation, and multilateral fora.
“President Ruto will, thereafter, embark on a two-day State visit to Israel at the invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the visit, the two leaders will hold high-level bilateral meetings and discuss areas of mutual interest, including technology and innovation, manufacturing, agriculture, and defence cooperation.
“The President is expected to visit several agricultural projects in the Middle East country that is renowned for its mega strides in irrigation. Additionally, the President will meet the Israeli business community to pitch for their partnership and investment in Kenya,” Hussein added.
Summary: How King Charles III Coronation Will Look Like
After the Queen’s death was announced on Thursday, September 8, 2022, the throne passed immediately to the heir, Charles, her son and the former Prince of Wales. He will formally be crowned king at the coronation, which could take place in the spring or summer of 2023.
For the past 900 years – since William the Conqueror – the coronation has been held in Westminster Abbey. Unlike royal weddings, the coronation is a state occasion, meaning that the government pays for it and chooses the guest list.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will place St Edward’s crown, which dates from 1661, on Charles’s head.
This is the iconic solid gold crown from the crown jewels at the Tower of London, which is studded with 444 coloured gemstones, including rubies, garnets, sapphires and tourmalines, filled with a purple velvet centre and trimmed with fur.
It is worn by the monarch only at the moment of the coronation itself, in part because it weighs 2.23kg. Reports indicate that the St Edwards Crown is valued at over Ksh493.7 million.
Coronations are traditional affairs. However, it is reported that King Charles would like a more scaled-down version compared to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
He will still be laden with jewels. As well as St Edward’s crown, he will be presented with the coronation ring, nicknamed the wedding ring of England, which is placed on the fourth finger of the monarch’s right hand.
The ring has been used since 1831 and is a symbolic sapphire ring with baguette-cut rubies in the form of a cross over the face, representing the cross of St George and the Scottish flag
He will also be handed a sceptre dating to 1661, which has been used in every coronation since. In 1910, King George V added the Cullinan I diamond, a 530.2-carat stone cut from the Cullinan diamond, a 3,106-carat stone unearthed in South Africa in 1905.
Prince Charles will also receive two gold armills to symbolise the monarch’s bond with the people.
