JAPANESE EMPEROR NARUHITO FINALLY BEGINS DELAYED UK STATE VISIT
Emperor Naruhito and his wife began a week long trip to Britain on Saturday, during which they will visit Oxford University where they both studied and attend a banquet with King Charles, but no formal meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is scheduled. Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, had been due to make the visit in 2020 when Queen Elizabeth was still alive but it was postponed because of the COVID pandemic.
Their first overseas trip together after Naruhito's enthronement was to Elizabeth's funeral in 2022. Ahead of this state visit the 64-year-old emperor spoke of the kindness the British royals showed him when he arrived in Britain to study in the early 1980s. He recalled how the late queen had invited him to Buckingham Palace for tea, which she made herself.
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