President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to undertake a landmark State Visit to the United Kingdom later this month after receiving a formal invitation from King Charles III.
Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, will be hosted at Windsor Castle, located west of London, between March 18 and 19, where they will be received by King Charles and Queen Camilla, according to the palace.
The British Royal Family confirmed the visit in a statement shared on its official X account on Sunday.
“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,” the statement read.
The development was also confirmed by presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, who described it as a historic milestone in Nigeria–UK diplomatic relations.
“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,” Onanuga wrote on X.
Nigeria and the United Kingdom formalised a strategic partnership in November 2024 aimed at deepening collaboration in economic development, immigration management, and security cooperation.
The upcoming visit is notable as it represents the first occasion since 1989 that a Nigerian leader will be accorded full State Visit honours in the UK. That year, Nigeria’s then military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II during a four-day visit that featured accommodation at a royal residence and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.
Before Babangida, only two Nigerian leaders had paid official State Visits to the United Kingdom: General Yakubu Gowon in June 1973 and President Shehu Shagari in 1981.
Although several Nigerian presidents have travelled to the UK since 1989, those trips were classified as private, working, or official visits and did not include the ceremonial prestige associated with a State Visit. Former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Muhammadu Buhari, who attended the coronation of King Charles III in 2023, all visited under non-state arrangements.
Since assuming office, President Tinubu has met King Charles III on two occasions. Their first interaction occurred in December 2023 on the sidelines of the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. A second private meeting took place in September 2024 at Buckingham Palace, where discussions centred on climate change and global security.
Since his inauguration in May 2023, President Tinubu has embarked on more than 10 international trips. While many were working visits, summit participations, or private engagements, several were officially designated as state or official visits involving formal invitations and ceremonial protocols.
Among the most prominent was his state visit to Türkiye, during which he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and signed nine strategic agreements spanning defence, energy, and trade. He also undertook a state visit to Brazil in August 2025 at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as well as an official state visit to China in September 2024 during the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation.
Other official trips included visits to Equatorial Guinea in August 2024 for discussions on maritime security and gas cooperation, the Netherlands in April 2024 for the Nigerian-Dutch Business and Investment Forum, Qatar in March 2024 following an invitation from Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Benin Republic in August 2023 as a special guest at its 63rd Independence Anniversary.
President Tinubu’s diplomatic engagements have spanned Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, underscoring a foreign policy orientation centred on diplomacy, trade expansion, and strategic partnerships.
What you should know
President Bola Tinubu’s upcoming State Visit to the United Kingdom marks a rare diplomatic milestone, as it is the first full State Visit accorded to a Nigerian leader in nearly four decades.
State Visits carry significant ceremonial weight and reflect strong bilateral relations. The invitation from King Charles III comes amid strengthened Nigeria–UK cooperation following a strategic partnership signed in 2024.
The visit highlights Tinubu’s active foreign policy approach, which prioritises international engagement, trade agreements, and security collaboration across multiple regions of the world.
