King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Windsor Castle, West of Central London in the United Kingdom (UK).
It will be Nigeria’s first State visit to the UK in thirty-seven (37) years.
President Tinubu’s State visit to the UK was announced by The Royal Family on Sunday 8 February, 2026.
According to the Royal Family, the Nigerian President alongside First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, accepted the invitation to pay a State visit to the United Kingdom (UK) from Wednesday, 18th March to Thursday, 19th March 2026.
State visits are regarded a pattern of soft-power diplomacy, with the use of royal hospitality to bolster collaborations with important international partners.
The last Nigerian State visit to the UK happened way back in 1989, when General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, a military ruler, took a trip to meet the Late Queen Elizabeth II. A trip that lasted for four (4) days.
The Royal Family’s statement on President Tinubu’s State visit to the UK
The Royal Family made known the Nigerian President alongside his wife, the First Lady, will be hosted by the King and Queen at the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, the Windsor Castle.
The Statement reads: “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty The King to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from Wednesday, 18th March to Thursday, 19th March 2026.
“The King and Queen will host the State Visit at Windsor Castle.”
Whilst, this will be President Tinubu’s first official visit to the UK, he has met the King already since taking office after Nigeria’s heavily-contested Presidential Election in 2023.
The President and First Lady were welcomed in September 2024 at Buckingham Palace, and, also had a meeting with King Charles III on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai.
The visit is coming at a time of strengthening diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.
Due to the huge trade relations that exists between the two countries, the UK regards Nigeria as an important partner in Africa. In 2024, the two countries signed a new trade and investment alliance with the aim to expand business opportunities.
The agenda for the state visit in March has not been made known, nor how the events have been planned.
In 2025 alone, King CharlesIII presided over three State visits – President of France, Emmanuel Macron; President of the United States (US), Donald Trump; and President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
In response to the announcement by The Royal Family, the Nigerian Presidency said through the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the State visit has been “confirmed”.
Onanuga posted: “First state visit of a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years confirmed. President Tinubu and First Lady Remi Tinubu to be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla from 18th March to 19th March 2026.”
Photo: King Charles III receives President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at Buckingham Palace in September 2024
