President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to depart Abuja for or London, United Kingdom, later Wednesday, May 3, to join other world leaders invited to the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, respectively.
The coronation will take place on Saturday, May 6, according to a press release issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
The Commonwealth Secretariat will take advantage of the gathering of leaders in London to host a Commonwealth Summit for Commonwealth Presidents and Heads of Government on Friday, May 5.
The Nigerian leader will also participate in the Summit which will deliberate on the Future of the Commonwealth and the Role of the Youth.
Buhari will be accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno (Rtd), the Director General, National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the Chairperson/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and other senior government officials.
Charles and Camilla’s coronation service will be shorter than his mother’s coronation in 1953 in order to represent multiple faiths, cultures, and communities across the United Kingdom.
Aside from the coronation ceremony, public ceremonies and celebrations have been planned in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the British Crown Dependencies and overseas territories to commemorate the occasion.
Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II.
The coronation ceremony will be the first of a British monarch in the 21st century, and the 40th to be held at Westminster Abbey since William the Conqueror’s coronation in 1066.