By Danica Kirka, LONDON England
King Charles III will
travel to Kenya later
this month for a state visit, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, in a trip that
is full of symbolism.
Charles’ mother, the late
Queen Elizabeth II, learned that she had become U.K. monarch while visiting a
game preserve in the East African nation in 1952.
The state visit from Oct.
31-Nov. 3 will be Charles’ first to a Commonwealth nation since he succeeded
his mother last year, underscoring the king’s commitment to an organization
that has been central to Britain’s global power and prestige since World War
II.
Charles will be greeted by
Kenyan President William Ruto when he arrives in the capital, Nairobi. The king
plans to visit Nairobi National Park and meet with environmental activist
Wanjira Mathai, the daughter of late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, as he
underscores his commitment to environmental protection.
Charles will also acknowledge the “painful
aspects” of his nation’s shared history with Kenya, which celebrates the 60th
anniversary of its independence from the U.K. this year. The two countries have
enjoyed a close relationship since independence, despite the prolonged struggle
against colonial rule, sometimes known as the Mau Mau Rebellion, in which
thousands of Kenyans died.
“His
majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the
wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya,” Chris Fitzgerald,
deputy private secretary to the king, said during a briefing on the state
visit.
The rebellion began in the
early 1950s, when groups of armed Kenyans attacked British officials and white
farmers who occupied fertile lands. The Kenya Human Rights Commission estimates
that 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the United
Kingdom’s counterinsurgency campaign.
In 2013, the U.K. government
expressed its regret over the “torture and other forms of ill-treatment”
perpetrated by the colonial administration from 1952-1960, and paid out 19.9
million pounds for human rights abuses.
The U.K. royal family has long
ties to Africa. In 1947, the future queen pledged lifelong service to Britain
and the Commonwealth during a speech from South Africa on her 21st birthday.
Five years later, Elizabeth and her late husband Prince Philip were visiting
Aberdare National Park in Kenya when they learned that her father had died and
she had become queen.
Charles himself visited Kenya
in 1971, and he attended the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Rwanda
in 2022.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent countries, most of which have historical ties to the United Kingdom and its former empire. Charles became the symbolic head of the organization after the queen died last year, but the honor is not hereditary. - Africa
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