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State & Ceremonial

Queen welcomes the President of South Korea to UK

Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family have formally welcomed Her Excellency Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea to the United Kingdom on a state visit, at Horse Guards Parade this morning.

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The ceremonial welcome began when The Duke of York accompanied Her Excellency to Horse Guards Parade where she inspected a Guard of Honour before the traditional carriage ride to Buckingham Palace, where the President will be staying during her 3-day official visit.

Later, after a private lunch at Buckingham Palace given by The Queen, Her Majesty will, with The President, visit the Picture Gallery at the Palace to view an exhibition of Korean related items from the Royal Collection and Royal Archives.

In the afternoon, The Duke of Cambridge will accompany Her Excellency to Victoria Embankment Gardens where, accompanied by other dignitaries, they will attend a Korean War Memorial Ground-breaking Ceremony – this is the Duke of Cambridge’s first official role representing The Queen during a state visit, neither he nor the Duchess of Cambridge will attend the State Banquet for the President later this evening at the Palace.

For the rest of the day, the president will spend the time meeting British ministers, including during a visit to the Houses of Parliament later in the afternoon.

The traditional state welcome at Horse Guards Parade was conducted this morning.

The traditional state welcome at Horse Guards Parade was conducted this morning.

The day will be rounded off with the traditional State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, attended by members of the Royal Family, the President and notable South Korean people.

For the second day, the President will spend the majority of the time visiting Korean places in London.

On the last day (7th) the President will bid farewell to Her Majesty at the Grand Entrance to Buckingham Palace where she will then head off to the airport, being seen off by the Lord Chamberlain on behalf of Her Majesty.

The Queen typically hosts two inbound state visits a year, often changing between hosting them at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Inbound heads of state always stay in The Queen’s residence on a state visit.

photo credit: World Bank Photo Collection and Royal Central