King Charles welcomes Ukrainian President Zelenskyy after historic visit to the Holy See concludes

Less than 24 hours after he became the first British king to pray with a pope in 500 years, King Charles was back in the United Kingdom welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Windsor Castle.

The Ukrainian President was in the United Kingdom for strategy talks amongst heads of states of various European countries, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, followed by a larger meeting billed as a coalition of the willing that the President hopes will provide defence materials to Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia.

Before this, President Zelenskyy paid a visit to Windsor Castle, where he was greeted by King Charles as the Ukrainian national anthem played. He then inspected an honour guard comprised of soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards.

On his Twitter, President Zelenskyy wrote of the meeting: “I am grateful to His Majesty and to the entire United Kingdom for their unwavering support of our people, as well as for their strong public messages in support of Ukraine and the pursuit of peace for our country.”

King Charles has met with President Zelenskyy several times throughout the ongoing war in Ukraine. In March, President Zelenskyy visited the King at his private residence at Sandringham after a disastrous meeting at the White House; and in June, he paid a visit to King Charles at Windsor Castle.

The British Royal Family’s support for Ukraine has always been strong. Both Princess Anne and The Duchess of Edinburgh have paid visits to the war-torn country, while the Prince of Wales has visited British troops near the borders in Estonia and Poland.

The King and Queen have welcomed President Zelenskyy and First Lady Zelenskaa to the United Kingdom several times, as have the Prince and Princess of Wales.

While President Zelenskyy is in London today, his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenskaa, was in Norway and met with Crown Princess Mette-Marit.