COURT CIRCULAR

Buckingham Palace

The Emperor and Empress of Japan today commenced a State Visit to The King and Queen.

The Prince of Wales welcomed Their Majesties on behalf of The King at Claridge’s Hotel, Brook Street, London W1.

The Emperor and Empress of Japan, accompanied by His Royal Highness, drove to Horse Guards and were met by The King and Queen.

The Emperor and Empress of Japan, accompanied by The King and Queen, drove in a Carriage Procession to Buckingham Palace with a Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry.

Gun Salutes were fired in Green Park by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, and at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.

Guards of Honour were provided at Horse Guards by 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and at Buckingham Palace by 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

His Majesty’s Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, The King’s Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard and a Detachment of Household Cavalry were on duty.

The King presented The Emperor of Japan with the Insignia of a Stranger Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Garter.

The Emperor and Empress of Japan this afternoon visited Westminster Abbey where His Majesty laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

The King and Queen gave a State Banquet this evening in honour of The Emperor and Empress of Japan at which The Prince of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were present.

The following had the honour of being invited:

Suite of The Emperor and Empress of Japan:
His Excellency Mr Hirofumi Nakasone (Head of the Official Suite), His Excellency Mr Hajime Hayashi (Ambassador from Japan to the Court of St James’s), His Excellency Mr Yasuhiko Nishimura (Grand Steward of the Imperial Household), His Excellency Mr Koro Bessho (Grand Chamberlain to The Emperor), His Excellency Mr Junichi Ihara (Grand Master of the Ceremonies, Imperial Household), His Excellency Mr Yoshiji Nogami (Ambassador, Press Secretary to The Emperor and Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs), Ms Yukiko Nishimiya (Chief Lady-in-Waiting to The Empress), Mr Takafumi Shimoda (Senior Commissioner Imperial Guard, Chief of Imperial Guard Headquarters), His Excellency Mr Takehiro Shimada (Ambassador, Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Mr Motoo Kakihara (Director, Western Europe Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Specially attached to The Emperor and Empress of Japan:
The Viscount Brookeborough KG (Lord in Waiting), Ms Julia Longbottom (His Majesty’s Ambassador to Japan) and Mr Richard Sciver, and Miss Sheila O’Connor (Head of VIP Visits, Protocol Directorate, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office).

Diplomatic Corps:
His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Honduras and Mrs Mirian Nasser de Romero.

The Cabinet and Government:
The Prime Minister and Mrs Murty, the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden (Deputy Prime Minister), the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the Leader of the House of Lords and the Lady True, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mrs Hunt, the Rt Hon Olukemi Badenoch (Secretary of State for Business and Trade) and Mr Hamish Badenoch, the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Minister of State for Indo-Pacific), the Rt Hon Gregory Clark (Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group, United Kingdom Trade Envoy to Japan and Chairman of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee) and Mrs Clark, and Mr Owen Jenkins (Director General for Indo-Pacific, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office).

Special Invitations:
Mr Andrew Bailey (Governor of the Bank of England) and Professor Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Sir Philip Barton (Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) and Lady Barton, Mr Christopher Broad (Founder of YouTube channel, Abroad in Japan) and Miss Sharla Hinskens, the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill (the Lady Chief Justice) and Mr Alexander Birch, the Rt Hon Dr Simon Case (Cabinet Secretary) and Mrs Case, Mr Samuel Chatto (Artist), Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta (Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge) and Lady Dasgupta, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Lady Davey, Mr Michael Demare (Chairman, AstraZeneca) and Dr Angelica Kohlmann, Mr Edmund de Waal (Artist and Writer), Mr William Emmott (Chairman, the Japan Society) and Mrs Emmott, the Leader of the Scottish National Party at Westminster and Mrs Flynn, Dame Wendy Hall (United Kingdom Representative to the United Nations Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board and Regius Professor of Computer Science, University of Southampton) and Dr Peter Chandler, Mr Toshiaki Higashihara (Director and Executive Chairman, Hitachi Limited) and Mrs Higashihara, Ms Cressida Hogg (Chairman, BAE Systems) and Mr Henry Legge, Mr Atsushi Horiba (Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, Horiba) and Mrs Horiba, Sir Brian Ivory (Chairman, Arcus Infrastructure Fund) and Lady Ivory, Ms Anna Jackson (Keeper of the Asian Department, Victoria and Albert Museum), Mr David Keswick (Partner, Redwheel Asset Management) and Mrs Keswick, the Rt Hon David Lammy (Shadow Foreign Secretary) and Ms Nicola Green, Dame Laura Lee (Chief Executive, the Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust), the Lord Lloyd-Webber KG (Composer) and the Lady Lloyd-Webber, the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, the Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster and the Lady Mayoress, the Lord Speaker (the Lord McFall of Alcluith), Sir Richard Moore (Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service) and Lady Moore, Dr Haruo Naito (Chief Executive Officer, Eisai) and Mrs Naito, the Duke of Norfolk (the Earl Marshal) and the Duchess of Norfolk, Sir Paul Nurse (Chief Executive Officer, the Francis Crick Institute) and Lady Nurse, Ms Mari-Ruth Oda (Artist) and Mr Anthony Lane, Mrs Aki Olver (Chairman and Trustee, Momiji) and Mr Charles Olver, the Lord Patten of Barnes KG (Chancellor, University of Oxford) and the Lady Patten of Barnes, Admiral Sir Antony Radakin (Chief of the Defence Staff) and Lady Radakin, Mr Jonathan Reynolds (Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade) and Mrs Reynolds, the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party at Westminster and Mrs Robinson, Sir Mark Rowley (Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis) and Lady Rowley, Ms Rebecca Salter (President, Royal Academy of Arts) and Mr Geoffrey Winston, Ms Miho Sato (Chef, the Aubrey) and Mr Hideki Sato, Mr Jun Sawada (Chairman, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) and Mrs Sawada, the Baroness Smith of Basildon (Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords), the Leader of the Opposition and Lady Starmer, Ms Hana Tajimi (Artist) and Mr Colin Moore Bradley, Lady Wood (Co-Founder, Oxford Instruments plc) and Ms Marie Dent, Ms Naoko Yamazaki (former Astronaut and Member, the Earthshot Prize Council) and Mr Matsuo Yasunaga (Chairman, Mitsui and Company) and Mrs Yasunaga.

Japanese Delegation and Guests:
Dr Haruko Hayashi (Spouse of the Ambassador from Japan to the Court of St James’s), Mr Yasutaka Miyazawa (Master of the Ceremonies, Board of the Ceremonies, Imperial Household), Mr Tomoyuki Oshino (Chamberlain to The Emperor, Imperial Household), Dr Soichiro Yauda (Court Physician, Imperial Household), Mr Tadashi Fujiwara (Consul General of Japan in Edinburgh), Mr Toshio Suzuki (Director, General Affairs Division, Imperial Household), Mr Isamu Ishikawa (Assistant Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr Katsuya Kamiya (Secretary to the Head of the Official Suite, Imperial Household), Mrs Joanne Ahmed (Honorary Consul of Japan in Manchester) and Mr Shiban Ahmed, Mr Keith Dunn (Honorary Consul of Japan in Cardiff) and Mrs Dunn, Mr Satoru Ichinokawa (Chairman, Nippon Club), Mrs Yukinobu Nakano (Chairman, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the United Kingdom), Ms Chizuko Winter (Chairman, Japan Association in the United Kingdom), Dr Meri Arichi (Chairman, Japanese Women’s Association in Great Britain), Mr Hiroshi Matsuura (Envoy and Minister to the United Kingdom, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom), Mr Akihiro Tsuji (Minister Political, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom), Mr Kyoichiro Kawakami (Minister Economic, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom), Mr Yasuhiro Matsuda (Minister — Head of Finance Section, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom), Mr Yasuyuki Okazaki (Minister for Public Diplomacy and Media, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom), Mr Hirooki Ohashi (Counsellor Public Diplomacy, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom), Ms Mayuko Takamura (Counsellor — Head of Administration, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom) and Mr Tomoyuki Fujino (First Secretary Political, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom).

The King was represented by Dame Hilary Boulding (former Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Sir Ian Stoutzker (Philanthropist) which was held at the Orangery, Holland Park, London W11, this afternoon.

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Kent, Patron, this evening attended the London Philharmonic Orchestra Gala at St John’s Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1, and was received by Mr Christopher Wellbelove (Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London).