King Charles welcomed the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to London as part of events to celebrate 650 years of Anglo-Portuguese relations.
The King met President Rebelo de Sousa at Buckingham Palace to mark the anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest diplomatic alliance still in force.
King Charles and the Portuguese President inspected the King’s Guard in Buckingham Palace’s forecourt before attending a Thanksgiving Service at The Queen’s Chapel at St. James’s Palace in Marlborough.
British and Portuguese Armed Forces and the Sub Dean of The Queen’s Chapel, The Reverend Canon Paul Wright, welcomed the pair to the chapel.
The service in honour of the 650th anniversary included readings in English and Portuguese with music from composers from both countries. The President of Portugal-UK 650, Dr Maria Joao Rodrigues de AraĂºjo, gave a short address before the service concluded with the national anthems of Portugal and the UK.
Rodrigues de AraĂºjo said: “Over the past four years, our aim has been to celebrate our shared history, writing new chapters of friendship and cooperation.Â
“We have undertaken scholarly research on the Alliance and promoted the founding values enshrined in Article 1 of the Treaty of 1373: peace, friendship, truth, faithfulness, constancy, sincerity, kindness, and solidarity. … We hope these long-term legacy projects and collaborations will help to cement the bonds of friendship between the citizens of both our nations, ensuring that the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest alliance still in existence, continues to thrive.”
King Charles and President Rebelo de Sousa then viewed the original Treaty of Tagilde from 1373 from the National Archives.
They also met with some of those who have been involved in Portugal-UK 650 celebrations to better understand what the organisation has done to celebrate such a remarkable achievement between two countries.
The Treaty of London was signed 650 years ago on 16 June 1373 through an alliance between King Edward III of England and King Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor of Portugal.
The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was formally established in 1386 between England and Portugal, both of which were monarchies at the time. The Windsor Treaty was ratified on 9 May 1386 as an alliance between King Richard II of England and King John I of Portugal. This was not the first Anglo-Portuguese treaty to exist. Still, this one is considered the most significant because, according to the UK government, “it effectively cemented and strengthened ties between the two kingdoms and helped convert a fledgling alliance into a more permanent legacy of history.”
