LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles and his wife Camilla will travel to Kenya for a state visit at the end of this month, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday.
It will be the third foreign trip by the royals since Charles became king following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September last year.
In March they travelled to Germany, and last month they went to France for what was regarded as a highly successful three-day visit by the new monarch.
Their Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 visit to Kenya comes at the invitation of President William Ruto and ahead of the east African nation celebrating 60 years of independence from Britain, Chris Fitzgerald, the king’s deputy private secretary, told reporters in a briefing.
Kenya was where the late Elizabeth, while on a royal tour with her husband Prince Philip in 1952, automatically became Britain’s monarch when her father King George VI passed away in England.
The trip will represent Charles’ fourth official visit to Kenya, where he will meet Ruto, business executives, United Nations staff, faith leaders and soldiers, Fitzgerald said.
“The visit will also acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history, including the Emergency (1952-1960),” he added, referring to the bloody Mau Mau revolt against British colonial rule in which thousands of Kenyans died.
“His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya.”
(Reporting by Michael Holden, writing by Sachin Ravikumar, editing by William James)
