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Queen Elizabeth IIThe Yorks

The Queen and Prince Philip bid Chinese President farewell

China’s President Xi Jinping has bid a formal farewell to The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace before joining the Duke of York for a series of visits.

On Thursday morning, Mr Xi and the Duke Of York visited the UK satellite communications company Inmarsat.

Prince Andrew and President XI also attended a conference of the Confucius Institute, the Chinese equivalent of the British Council, hosted by University College London’s (UCL) Institute of Education, at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

The President of China and The Duke of York visit the UK Confucius Classroom Conference London

The President of China and The Duke of York visit the UK Confucius Classroom Conference London

The visit by the Chinese President and his wife were not without protests. On Thursday, Free Tibet campaigners and students from UCL and the London School of Economics met to demonstrate outside the event.

Thursday evening, the President and Madame Peng will join the Prime Minister and Mrs Cameron, at Chequers Court for talks and dinner together. Later, the President and Madame Peng will fly up to Manchester ahead of the final day of the State Visit.

On Friday, President XI and Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne will visit the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester.

The University of Manchester leads the world in graphene research and is one of the most prominent centres for commercialising the one-atom-thick material.

Following his visit to the University, the President along with Prime Minister David Cameron will visit the City Football Group.

Afterwards, the President and Madame Peng will be joined by the Prime Minister for lunch at Manchester Town Hall hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of Manchester.

At the conclusion of the State Visit, the Lord Chamberlain will bid farewell to President Xi and Madame Peng on behalf of The Queen as they depart from Manchester Airport.

Photo Credit: © The Duke of York 2015