President Bola Tinubu will undertake a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom from March 18 to 19, 2026, following an official invitation from King Charles III, the British royal family announced Sunday.
A statement posted on the royal family’s official X account said Tinubu will be hosted by the king and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle. The Nigerian president will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
“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, March 18, to Thursday, March 19, 2026,” the post said.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the visit will be the first state visit by a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years.
“First state visit of a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years confirmed,” Onanuga wrote. “President Tinubu and First Lady Remi Tinubu will be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla.”
The last Nigerian state visit to Britain occurred in 1989, when former military president Ibrahim Babangida was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
The British Broadcasting Corporation describes state visits as a form of soft-power diplomacy, combining royal ceremony with political engagement to strengthen bilateral ties.
Tinubu and King Charles, who both assumed office in May 2023, have met several times. They met in Dubai in November 2023 ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, and again in September 2024 during a private meeting at Buckingham Palace.
The British monarch has long-standing ties to Nigeria and has publicly expressed interest in Pidgin English and Afrobeats music. Before becoming king, he visited Nigeria four times as Prince of Wales—in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018. Queen Camilla accompanied him on the 2018 visit.
In 2023, the King’s Trust International, formerly the Prince’s Trust, launched operations in Nigeria with initiatives aimed at tackling youth unemployment.
