Charles and Camilla bid affectionate farewell to Japanese royals (2024)

The King and Queen bid an affectionate farewell to the Emperor and Empress of Japan at Buckingham Palace this morning on the final day of the official State Visit programme.

Their Majesties shook the hands of the British and Japanese delegations inside the 1844 room before walking to the Grand Entrance to say their final goodbyes.

King Charles and Emperor Naruhito chatted warmly with ripples of laughter, the King occasionally patting the Emperor on the arm.

Queen Camilla and Empress Masako spoke with equal ease, with the Empress kissing the Queen on both cheeks.

Before the end of the prolonged farewell, which lasted around two and a half minutes, Their Majesties moved to the State Bentley for further chit chat.

Camilla shook the Emperor's hand and, holding his grip, said: 'Goodbye, it's been so lovely to have you here.'

The Empress then again kissed Queen Camilla on both cheeks, followed by King Charles. Meanwhile Charles gave Emperor Naruhito a firm handshake.

The affectionate display was a sweet show of support to the Empress, whotook time out of the royal visit yesterday.

Palace aides said the long farewell reflected the 'genuinely warm' relationship between the King and the Emperor.

Queen Camilla looked elegant for the occasion in a royal blue long-sleeved dress with a stunning butterfly brooch to accessorise.

And the Empress was also dressed for the formality of the occasion in a light pink suit and matching heels.

The Emperor and Empress waved from the car as they left the palace, and Camilla put a supportive hand on her husband's back as they went back inside.

While it is the last time King Charles and Queen Camilla will be formally involved in the visit, the Emperor and Empress will continue with engagements in London today and have a private programme in Oxford tomorrow.

After the farewell the Emperor and Empress set off to the Young V&A, part of the V&A family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity around the world, where the museum's Japan: Myths to Manga exhibition is currently on display.

The Emperor will then privately visit St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, to lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, in the King George VI Chapel.

The Garter Banners of the current members of the Order of the Garter, including the banner belonging to Emperor Naruhito's father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, are displayed in the Quire of St. George's Chapel.

Later this afternoon the Emperor will also tour the historic Temperate House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The Millennium Seed Bank, coordinated by Kew is the world's largest collection of over 2.4 billion wild plant seeds spanning 97 countries, preserving Japanese and international biodiversity.

Bronze Bonsai sculptures by artist Marc Quinn are currently displayed in the Temperate House, surrounded by a display of Bonsai trees from Kew's collection.

Tomorrow, on their final day in the UK, The Emperor and Empress of Japan will visit Oxford for a private programme of engagements including a visit to the colleges where Their Majesties studied.

The King and the Emperor socialised when the Japanese monarch studied at Oxford University in the 1980s with the two men enjoying opera and fly fishing together.

Charles hosted a state banquet for his guests on Tuesday evening and in a speech praised the close bond between the UK and Japan, and told the emperor their 'shared values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law' were more important than ever.

The initial invitation for the emperor to make a state visit to the UK was made by the late Queen but the trip was postponed due to the Covid pandemic and Elizabeth died in September 2022.

On Wednesday Emperor Naruhito was joined by Prince Edward for a glitzy hall banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor, while his wife took time out.

The Empress, who has previously been dubbed a 'reluctant royal' among the Japanese elite, did not attend the dinner as she has taken some time to rest.

The so-called 'broken butterfly' as she has previously been dubbed by Japanese media, is known to have a complicated relationship with royal life and also suffers from bouts of ill health.

During the event, the Lord Mayor recognised the relationship between the City, the UK and Japan; following Mainelli's recent visit to Tokyo where he discussed asset management and green finance.

It followed an official state banquet the night before at Buckingham Palace, where the Japanese royals were officially welcomed to the UK in style.

King Charles and Queen Camilla threw the glittering party for the royal couple after uncertainty over whether the visit would go ahead at all; partly due to next week's General Election.

But after behind-the-scenes negotiations to pare down some more political elements of the visit, it got the go-ahead – with pomp, pageantry, and jokes about Pokemon characters.

There, Camilla showed off the King's new Family Order for the first time – painted on plastic instead of ivory. The tradition, which dates back to the 19th century, normally features a portrait of the monarch surrounded by diamonds and suspended from a silk bow.

Charles, 75, ditched ivory in favour of having his portrait painted – in oil by miniaturist Elizabeth Meek – on synthetic polymin. Camilla wore her new Family Order, along with the one she was given by the late Queen Elizabeth, on a cream silk crepe embroidered dress by Fiona Clare.

The banquet at Buckingham Palace also brought humour, as the King made light-hearted references to the popular Japanese cartoon characters for children, Hello Kitty and Pokemon.

Reminiscing about the times he has been fly fishing with the Emperor, he joked: 'I am only sorry to report that I haven't had any better luck with more recent attempts at fishing – the Pokemon phrase 'gotta catch 'em all' may resonate with my grandchildren, but for me it is, perhaps, aspirational!'

Earlier in the day, the royals had been treated to a lavish procession as Charles and Prince William rolled out the red carpet for their guests.

After a private lunch, they were taken to view items in the Royal Collection– the priceless and historic collection of jewels, art and artefacts held in trust by the sovereign on behalf of the nation – with an Anglo-Japanese theme.

The display included a book written by Emperor Naruhito more than 30 years ago when he was a student at Oxford University and the first history of Japan in English which was published in 1727.

The King and Queen showed their guests a gift received by the late Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate her coronation in 1953 from the Emperor Showa – a delicate antique urushi lacquer box.

Meanwhile Prince William chatted to the Duke and duch*ess of Edinburgh, stopping by a huge silk screen gifted to Queen Elizabeth II by Emperor Showa.

The scene worked in silk thread on a gold ground is from Murasaki Shikibu's 11th-century novel, The Tale Of Genji (Genji Monogatari). Remarking on the scene, the Duke of Gloucester, who was also a guest, joked: 'How do they keep their hats on?'

The duch*ess of Edinburgh laughed, exclaiming: 'Richard!' before moving on. There was also an exchange of gifts, including honours.

The King appointed the emperor to the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in the UK, while the emperor presented the King with the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Japan's highest honour.