King Charles and Queen Camilla View a Piece of Queen Elizabeth’s Royal History Before State Visit to Kenya

King Charles and Queen Camilla reflect on Queen Elizabeth’s special relationship with Kenya ahead of their state visit next week.

On Tuesday, the royal couple welcomed the Kenyan diaspora to Buckingham Palace at a reception celebrating the relationship between the countries and the future ahead. King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 76, spoke to professionals from business, media, charities, the arts, sport, government and the military, plus representatives from their patronages in Kenya.

This African country is a unique part of the story of Queen Elizabeth’s throne and modern royal history. Charles’ mother was there on a Commonwealth tour in 1952 when she learned that her father, King George VI, had died in his sleep, making her the monarch of the United Kingdom and allied kingdoms at the age of 25.

During the reception, King Charles and Queen Camilla viewed an exhibition of items from the Royal Collection Trust relating to the British royal family’s connection with Kenya, including photographs of the then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s visit before her enthronement and a copy of the speech Prince Philip gave when Kenya became independent in 1963. According to Rebecca English from Daily mailKing Charles was particularly struck by one piece.

Queen Camilla and King Charles attend a reception for the Kenyan diaspora at Buckingham Palace ahead of their state visit to the African country next week.

Aaron Chown – WPA collection/Getty

King Charles and Queen Camilla will acknowledge ‘painful’ past during state visit to Kenya

“A sweet moment as the king recalls a photo of Treetops, the iconic Kenyan hideaway where his late mother became queen,” wrote a royal reporter xposting a video of the sovereign’s stop with Queen Camilla.

In January 1952, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (as Philip and Elizabeth were then known!) embarked on a Commonwealth tour of Africa, Australia and New Zealand on behalf of King George VI, who had lung cancer and was recovering from an operation . After greeting enthusiastic crowds in Nairobi, Kenya, the young couple embarked on a five-day wildlife safari and arrived at Treetops safari lodge on February 5, where they watched the animals at a nearby watering hole and stayed in a treehouse nestled in a giant fig tree in the national park. Aberdare Park.

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrived at Sagana Lodge in Kenya on February 5, 1952.

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty

The next day, the group received a telegram that the king had died in his sleep at the age of 56. It was Prince Philip who broke the news to his wife in the gardens.

The armed escort of the new ruler, Jim Corbett, famously wrote in the Treetops diary: “For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed a tree as a princess and came down as a queen.”

Lady Pamela Hicks, cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh, maid of honor at his wedding to Princess Elizabeth, witnessed history during the fateful journey.

What really happened the moment Elizabeth discovered she was queen

“My mother remembers very clearly that when she heard the news, she was walking up and down, up and down with Philip and the ladies of the court and the private secretary,” Lady Pamela’s daughter India Hicks previously told PEOPLE.

“Finally, when the queen regained her composure, she said, ‘I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to go back to England,'” Hicks said. “It was so indicative of the Queen that she would apologize for something like that. Everyone said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ ”

“My mother hugged her and suddenly remembered: ‘This is my queen’ and bowed deeply,” she added. Queen Elizabeth, who subsequently had a historic 70-year reign, was officially crowned a little later than a year later on June 2, 1953.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on the day of her coronation, June 2, 1953. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Years later, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Treetops again in November 1983 during a 16-day official tour of Kenya, Bangladesh and India.

The historic safari lodge closed in 2021 after revenue from tourists in Kenya fell by 90% due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Kenya Wildlife Service said at the time. The cottage has not hosted a visitor for more than a year, the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism confirmed Time.

Two weeks ago, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Kenya from October 31st to November 3rd. The visit marks the couple’s first state visit to a Commonwealth country since Charles became king following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth aged 96 last September.

King Charles attends a reception for the Kenyan diaspora at Buckingham Palace on October 24.

Aaron Chown – WPA collection/Getty

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Although the state visit was coordinated at the invitation of President William Ruto and comes as Kenya prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence, the royals will also “acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK’s and Kenya’s shared history,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. .

From then until 1960, an uprising known as the Emergency took place. Led by the majority Kikuyu people, the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule and internal Kenyan opposition to independence led to tens of thousands of deaths. An estimated 11,000 Mau Mau rebels and others were killed, according to the BBC, but unofficial figures suggest much higher losses. Some estimates suggest that as many as 90,000 Kenyans were executed, while more than 150,000 were imprisoned.

“His Majesty will take time during his visit to deepen his understanding of the injustice suffered by the people of Kenya during this period. Together, Their Majesties will tour the new museum dedicated to Kenyan history and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens, as well as visit the site of Kenya’s declaration of independence in 1963,” the palace said as they confirmed the trip.

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to Kenya will come about two months after their mini-tour of France, which was postponed from March due to unrest over pension changes for French workers.

Queen Camilla and King Charles at a state banquet at the Palace of Versailles on September 20 during a state visit to France.

Chris Jackson/Getty

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