President Klaus Iohannis will receive, on Friday, at the Cotroceni Palace, King Charles III, who is coming on a private visit to Romania.
UPDATE 14.55 King Charles III arrived in Romania, at Baneasa Airport. At 3:30 p.m., the monarch will be received by President Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni Palace. After the official reception ceremony, the two will have face-to-face talks, and then a meeting with the state authorities, civil society representatives and the Diplomatic Corps.
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According to some sources, King Charles III will not be accompanied by Queen Camilla, his wife. The king will also go to his residence in Viscri.
The British Ambassador to Bucharest, Andrew Noble, told Agerpres that the visit that King Charles III will make to Romania is of a private nature, adding that the monarch will meet with President Klaus Iohannis, as a gesture of courtesy.
“It is 25 years since our king visited Romania for the first time, in 1998, and it will be the first time that a British monarch visits Romania, but this time it will be a private visit, like most of the visits the one who was then the Prince of Wales had them in Romania. We understand what a private visit means: as every time, he will meet the president, as a gesture of courtesy.
After he has been to Cotroceni, the rest of the visit will be private. He’s known to have various projects that he’s been involved in over the years and private visits usually include that kind of thing and I expect there will be that on this occasion, but there will be private meetings,” Noble said.
He explained that the past involvement of the Prince of Wales in the activities of non-governmental organizations is part of the activities undertaken by the British Government. “Our government collaborates deeply with NGOs, in all areas. So there is no problem with being able to work with NGOs as a king, only when acting as a king does it advisedly by the Government. This is a private visit,” the ambassador added.
The diplomat did not provide more information about the visit of King Charles III, stressing that this private character will be respected. “I don’t want to give details, because I want (the visit – no) to be as quiet and discreet as possible for the King. One of the great advantages of Romania is the tranquility, so his private visits here will be respected as such”, he emphasized Andrew Noble.
The last visit to Romania by His Royal Highness Charles, then Prince of Wales, took place in May 2022.