Charles' first state visit with feast fit for a king

KING Charles paid tribute to his mother, the late Queen’s close bond with Nelson Mandela as he hosted his first state visit as monarch.

- Russell Myers

Charles led the Royal Family in welcoming South Africa’s current President Cyril Ramaphosa – an event planned before Queen Elizabeth’s death in September – saying she “always talked warmly of her return to your country”.

The King told the African leader at last night’s glittering state banquet in the Buckingham Palace ballroom how freedom fighter-turned-President Mandela had an endearing nickname for Her Majesty.

Charles said: “During one of my own visits to South Africa, in 1997, President Mandela told me that he had conferred on my mother a special name – Motlalepula, meaning ‘to come with rain’.

“I have been reassured that this was a mark of the particular affection President Mandela felt for the Queen – rather than a remark on the British habit of taking our weather with us!” Charles, 74, added how “links between our countries run deep, with extensive family, professional and cultural ties”.