RismadarVoice Reporters
February 8, 2026
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will embark on a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom from March 18 to 19, 2026, following an official invitation from King Charles III.
The visit was announced on Sunday via a post on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the British royal family, which disclosed that the Nigerian leader would be formally hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
According to the post, President Tinubu will be accompanied by his wife and First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu.
It read: “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.”
Reacting to the announcement, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, described the visit as historic, noting that it would be the first state visit by a Nigerian leader to the United Kingdom in 37 years.
He wrote: “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.”
The last Nigerian leader to undertake a state visit to the UK was former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), who was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1989.
President Tinubu and King Charles, who both ascended to office in May 2023, have met on several occasions. In November 2023, the two leaders met in Dubai ahead of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), an engagement Tinubu described as significant in advancing bilateral relations.
In September 2024, the British Monarch also received President Tinubu in a private meeting at Buckingham Palace.
King Charles has long-standing personal ties with Nigeria and has frequently expressed his fondness for Pidgin English and Afrobeats music. Before ascending the throne, he visited Nigeria four times as Prince of Wales in 1990, 1999, 2006, and 2018. Queen Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied him during the 2018 visit.
