King Charles welcomes Oman’s Sultan Haitham to Windsor for UK state visit
The King and Queen were joined by William and Kate as Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said began the first UK state visit by an Omani sultan in 44 years.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcomed Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said to Windsor, England, on 20 October 2026, joined by Prince William and Catherine, the Princess of Wales. The ceremony opened the first UK state visit by an Omani sultan in 44 years.
William met the Sultan earlier at the Omani ruler’s London residence and travelled with him to Windsor, according to the Mirror. Charles, Camilla and Catherine greeted the Sultan at a dais in the town centre, where the King shook his hand and Catherine curtseyed as rain fell.
The Windsor procession and castle ceremony
The royal party then travelled by horse-drawn carriage through Windsor to the castle. Charles and the Sultan rode together in the Irish State Coach; Camilla followed in the Scottish State Coach with Oman’s deputy prime minister for defence affairs, Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said.
William and Catherine rode in the Australian State Coach with Oman’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, and the royal court’s secretary general, Sayyid Loay bin Ghalib Al Said. At Windsor Castle, a ceremonial welcome and inspection of the Guard of Honour took place in the quadrangle, the Mirror reported.
Catherine arrived at the dais with the King and Queen. The Evening Standard, in a PA Wire report, said this differed from the usual arrangements because the Sultan was not accompanied by his wife during the visit.
Oman’s first UK state visit since 1982
The previous UK state visit by an Omani sultan was in 1982, when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Haitham’s cousin, at Buckingham Palace. Charles had also met Haitham for tea at Windsor Castle during a private UK visit the previous July, the Mirror reported. That meeting was separate from this state visit.
The Mirror described the current visit as lasting three days. It reported plans for a state banquet on the evening of 20 October and for the King and Queen to see the Sultan off the following day; those later events had not taken place at the time of the Windsor welcome.
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Sources and context
- King, Queen, William and Kate welcome Sultan of Oman for state visitEvening Standard, reporting credited to PA Wire; Laura Elston
- Kate and Camilla deliver masterclass in diplomatic dressing for Oman state visitMirror; Charlotte Foster, Royal Reporter
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.