WINDSOR, United Kingdom — King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for a state visit to the United Kingdom from March 18 to 19, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The visit will take place at Windsor Castle and marks the first Nigerian state visit to the UK in 37 years. The last such visit occurred in 1989, when Nigeria’s then-military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, was received by Queen Elizabeth II during a four-day trip.
State visits are a central tool of diplomatic soft power. They combine royal ceremony with political engagement and are reserved for countries viewed as strategically important partners.
Although this will be President Tinubu’s first formal state visit to the UK, he has already met King Charles since taking office in 2023, following Nigeria’s disputed general election.
Tinubu and his wife were received at Buckingham Palace in September 2024. The President also held a bilateral meeting with the King on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Unlike routine diplomatic meetings, state visits carry ceremonial weight. They typically include carriage processions, a state banquet hosted by the monarch, and high-level political meetings with senior government officials.
The agenda for the March visit has not yet been disclosed. Buckingham Palace has also not confirmed which political engagements will accompany the royal programme.
The visit comes amid strengthening diplomatic and economic relations between the UK and Nigeria.
Trade between the two countries exceeded £8 billion in the year to October, according to UK government figures, making Nigeria one of Britain’s most significant partners in Africa.
In 2024, London and Abuja signed a new trade and investment partnership aimed at expanding business opportunities and boosting private sector cooperation.
The UK has increased its diplomatic emphasis on Africa in recent years, with trade, security cooperation, and climate policy forming key pillars of engagement.
King Charles has longstanding personal ties to Nigeria, a member of the Commonwealth. He has previously expressed admiration for Nigerian culture, including Pidgin English and Afrobeats music.
Before ascending the throne, he visited Nigeria four times as Prince of Wales — in 1990, 1999, 2006, and 2018. Queen Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied him on the 2018 visit.
In 2023, the King’s Trust International, formerly the Prince’s Trust, officially launched operations in Nigeria.
The programme focuses on addressing youth unemployment through enterprise support and skills development.
The upcoming visit will add to an unusually active period for the British monarchy.
In 2025 alone, King Charles hosted state visits from French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier — the first time the UK has held three state visits in a single year since 1988.
Diplomats say the Nigeria visit underscores Abuja’s growing importance to British foreign policy and reflects broader efforts to position the UK as a long-term partner in Africa’s economic transformation.
