The Princess of Wales will help launch the visit of the emir of Qatar to Britain on Tuesday, as the U.K. government has appointed one of the most popular royals to ensure the success of the state visit by the leader of a key ally while the princess recovers from cancer treatment.
The event is one of the few appearances made by Prince William’s wife, better known as Kate, since she was diagnosed with cancer in March, underscoring the importance of the gas-rich Gulf state, which invests billions in Britain and has played a central role in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.
William and Kate will greet Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani in the morning. The couple will then travel to Horse Guards Parade in central London, where King Charles III will formally welcome the Emir and Sheikha Jawaher to Britain at the start of a two-day visit that will include a visit to Westminster Abbey, a banquet at Buckingham Palace and a meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Queen Camilla, who has long suffered from a chest infection, withdrew from the formal outdoor event on medical advice. She plans to attend lunch at the palace and join the evening banquet.
Although Qatar is smaller than the US state of Connecticut, it has the world’s third-largest reserves of natural gas and is a major investor in the U.K.
The Qatari Investment Authority owns luxury retailer Harrods and holds large stakes in British companies such as Barclays Bank and supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. It has also invested heavily in London real estate, including the Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe.
But the fanfare for the emir is making human rights advocates uncomfortable, who say women and LGBTQ+ people face discrimination in Qatar, and migrant workers have still not been compensated for “gross abuses” suffered during preparations for the 2022 soccer World Cup.
“Hosting a royal visit without addressing these issues is tantamount to a royal wash of Qatar’s troubling rights record,” said Yasmin Ahmed, the U.K. director of Human Rights Watch.
The state visit comes at the end of a difficult year for Britain’s royal family. The king was sidelined for two months after it was announced in February that he was suffering from an undisclosed form of cancer.
Just weeks later, Kate made her cancer diagnosis public and said she would also step away from public duties to focus on her treatment and recovery.
While Charles returned to public duties in late April, Kate needed more time and her return has been slow. The princess has made only a handful of public appearances this year, mostly on occasions of national significance.
These included the king’s annual birthday parade in June and the men’s final at Wimbledon in July. Most recently, she attended the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in honour of the nation’s war dead in November.
The princess announced in September that she had completed chemotherapy treatment.
The government and royal family may have asked Kate and William to play a prominent role in the state visit to Qatar because they have much in common with the emir.
All three are in their 40s and were educated at elite British prep schools. Both the emir and William are graduates of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, with the emir going on to serve in the Qatari army and William serving in both the British army and the Royal Air Force.
Kate and William will join Qatar’s royals and the king and queen in a procession to Buckingham Palace.
After lunch at the palace, the Emir and Sheikha Jawaher will visit Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
Later in the day, the King and Queen will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.
On Wednesday, the Emir will visit Sandhurst, where he will meet some of his former classmates and current Qatari cadets. He will also meet RAF personnel who are providing advanced training to Qatari Air Force pilots.
The Emir will then travel to the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street to meet Starmer.