King Charles and Queen Camilla will this morning greet Japan‘s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako as they embark on a three-day state visit to the UK.
The Japanese ruler will receive a ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade with a carriage ride up the Mall before a state banquet tonight at Buckingham Palace.
Prince William is among the royals who will meet the Emperor later but the Princess Royal will be absent from the banquet after she was admitted to hospital with injuries caused by a horse at her home on the Gatcombe Park estate.
Follow our live coverage below and join in the conversation in our comments section
Britain and Japan ‘grappling’ with slimmed-down monarchies
Before we look ahead to the state visit, let’s take a look at the Japanese monarchy and note the similarities it has with the British one.
Japan’s monarchy has faced turmoil in recent years and is grappling with running as a slimmed-down entity.
The immediate succession crisis was resolved in 2006 when the Emperor’s younger brother and heir, Fumihito, now 58, had a son, Hisahito, in 2006.
But there is still a shortage of males and the women in the family lose their royal status when they marry commoners.
In 2021, Fumihito’s daughter Mako became the latest in a succession of princesses to lose her title when she wed a commoner. It has led to a shortage of working royals in Japan.
Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, believes there is much for both monarchs to compare and contrast this week.
‘I think they are both grappling with, in a sense, the weight of history. I think there is a lesson for the British monarchy about being too small a royal family,’ he said.
Emperor and Empress to return to Oxford colleges
On Friday, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will return to their former colleges at Oxford University in a series of private engagements before leaving Britain.
Between 1983 and 1986, Naruhito studied 18th century commerce on the River Thames as a postgraduate.
While Masako, by then a young diplomat, studied international relations at Balliol College between 1988 and 1990.
He and Masako, who met in 1986, both did a bit of rowing and played other sports while at Oxford and developed a love of the historic city – particularly Christ Church Meadow – and the Cotswolds while there.
Japan state visit: How can I follow it?
For all the latest on the Japanese state visit, follow The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor who will be across events throughout the day.
We will also be providing live coverage with all the latest news, pictures and videos right here on this blog.
Japan state visit: What is happening later this week?
We earlier brought you the programme for the first day of the official Japanese state visit which will start in the next hour, but what about the rest of the week?
Here’s a schedule of upcoming events
Wednesday, June 26
The Emperor will visit The Francis Crick Institute, the UK’s flagship biomedical research centre.
In the evening, he will join the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, for a Banquet at the Guildhall given by the Lord Mayor and City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor and The Emperor will both make speeches at the end of the banquet.
The Emperor and Empress of Japan will formally bid farewell to The King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on the morning of the final day of the official State Visit programme.
They will then travel to Young V&A, part of the V&A family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity around the world, where the museum’s Japan: Myths to Manga exhibition is on display.
He will also make a private visit to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, to lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II.
Later in the afternoon, the Emperor will tour the historic Temperate House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
On their final day in the UK, the Emperor and Empress of Japan will visit Oxford for a series of private engagements including a visit to the colleges where they studied.
The Lord Chamberlain will bid farewell to the Emperor and Empress on behalf of The King, before they depart from RAF Brize Norton.
Emperor Naruhito reveals bond with King over fishing
Ahead of his UK state visit, Emperor Hirohito recalled how he bonded with King Charles over fishing after spending time at the Royal Family’s Highland retreat.
The two men bonded back in 1984 when Naruhito (pictured in 1983), the grandson of the then Emperor Hirohito, was a student at Oxford.
At a news conference last week, Naruhito also recalled Charles teaching him to fly-fish in the River Dee beside Balmoral Castle.
The [then] Prince of Wales carefully taught me how to put on a hair hook and how to throw it
We both put on waders and went into the river, where we saw big fish jumping nearby, but neither of us caught anything.
MailOnline reporter Ellen Coughlan writes Japan’s Emperor Naruhito regrets his long-awaited official state visit could not be made while Queen Elizabeth was alive.
Naruito, 64, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019, and his wife, 60, will spend seven days carrying out private engagements with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
However the trip is bittersweet as Naruhito never got the chance to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth, who passed away 8 September 2022, after Covid stopped his planned 2020 state visit.
Read Ellen’s report here:
Which royals will wee see today? And who won’t be there
The King and Queen will feature prominently today as they welcome the Japanese Emperor and Empress on Horse Guards parade before a carriage procession up The Mall to Buckingham Palace.
The King will host a lunch and a state banquet at the Palace on Tuesday.
The Prince of Wales will also take part in the visit, greeting the emperor and empress at their hotel on behalf of the King before the ceremonial welcome.
William, who is president of the Football Association, is also expected to be at the state banquet but it clashes with England’s last group game in the Euro 2024 tournament.
The Princess of Wales, who returned briefly to the spotlight at Trooping the Colour last weekend despite her ongoing cancer treatment, is not expected to take part in the visit.
And it is confirmed Princess Anne will miss the state banquet after suffering minor injuries to her head and concussion when she was struck by a horse on her Gatcombe Park estate.
Pictured: Rolling out the red carpet for Japan visit
The Mall has been decked out with British and Japanese flags ahead of the start of Emperor Naruhito’s state visit which starts today.
Rehearsals were carried out yesterday with security tight surrounding Buckingham Palace.
Take a look at these photographs as preparations were in full swing.
Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako touched down in the UK on Saturday, four years after their state visit was put on hold because of the pandemic.
The couple enjoyed a warm welcome as they arrived at Stansted Airport for the week-long official state visit.
Naruhito, 64, and his wife did attend the Queen’s funeral in 2022 – this week he revealed how the late monarch had treated him ‘like family’ when he’d visited the UK previously – but it’s taken four years to re-arrange a state visit.
Read Jo Tweedy’s report here:
How Japanese state visit is a break from protocol
One unusual aspect of the Japanese state visit is the timing, with the Emperor arriving during a general election campaign.
There were no incoming state visits at the same time as a general election campaign during Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign.
In 2017, a Spanish state visit by King Felipe VI was quickly rescheduled – after an agreement between the late Queen and King Felipe – because the date clashed with a snap election in the UK.
A Palace spokesman said this week’s programme had been ‘slightly adapted’, adding: ‘As a general principle, it has of course been adapted as a result of the current pre-election period of sensitivity.’
Missing elements appear to be the usual Downing Street talks with the Prime Minister, a speech to the Palace of Westminster by the visiting head of state, and meetings with opposition leaders.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are expected to take a break from the campaign trail to attend the state banquet at Buckingham Palace, just over a week before the general election.
Princess Anne to miss Palace state banquet
The Princess Royal will miss tonight’s state banquet after suffering minor injuries to her head and concussion when she was struck by a horse on her Gatcombe Park estate.
Anne, a skilled horsewoman who competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, was walking on her Gloucestershire estate on Sunday evening when the incident happened and after being given medical care at the scene, she was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol by road for tests, treatment and observation.
The 73-year-old will miss several engagements this week, including the state banquet and an overseas tour to Canada, which was due to start this weekend.
The princess’s accident is the latest health upset to the hit the royal family this year, with the King and the Princess of Wales both being diagnosed with and undergoing treatment for cancer, and Sarah, Duchess of York, having skin cancer.
Read more here:
Japanese state visit: What is happening today?
Emperor Naruhito (pictured) and Empress Masako will begin the start of their three-day state visit to the UK in a trip intended to reinforce relations between the two nations.
Here’s what we can expect today:
Prince William will greet the Emperor and Empress of Japan at their hotel on Tuesday morning and travel with them to Horse Guards Parade where they will receive a ceremonial welcome from the King and Queen.
Presentations will be made including the playing of the Japanese national anthem.
The Emperor will then inspect the Guard of Honour, formed of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards with the Band of the Welsh Guards, accompanied by the King.
Afterwards, the Emperor and Empress will join The King and Queen, and The Prince of Wales, in a carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace.
Following a lunch hosted by the King, the Emperor and Empress will view a special exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to Japan.
Later in the afternoon, the Emperor and Empress will visit Westminster Abbey, where the Emperor will lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
The Emperor and Empress will then return to Buckingham Palace for a state banquet.
The Daily Mail’s Royal Correspondent Richard Palmer wrote the following curtain raiser ahead of the start of today’s state visit
Amid all the splendour and pageantry of a state visit this week, King Charles and Japan’s Emperor Naruhito will reignite a friendship forged over fly-fishing and barbecues at Balmoral.
It will be a chance to catch up and help promote the relationship between their two modern countries and perhaps compare notes on how their two ancient but ‘slimmed-down’ monarchies operate in the 21st century.
The two men bonded back in 1984 when Naruhito, the grandson of the then Emperor Hirohito, was a student at Oxford and spent a few days at the Royal Family’s Highland retreat.
Read more here:
Good morning
Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the Royal Family as the King and Queen prepare to welcome Japan ‘s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the start of their three-day state visit.
There will be plenty of pomp and pageantry on display culminating in a state banquet tonight at Buckingham Palace.
We will provide you with news, pictures and videos from throughout the day plus all the latest from Princess Anne who was admitted to hospital with injuries caused by a horse.