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On May 18th, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were joined by members of the Royal Family as they hosted a Sovereigns Luncheon at Windsor Castle, where the guest-list included the Sovereigns and Heads of all the reigning and non-reigning Royal Families (by length of reign):
King Michael of Romania and the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Tsar Simeon II and Tsaritsa Margarita of Bulgaria, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha of Brunei, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, The Emir of Qatar and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar. King Letsie III and Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, The King of Bahrain and Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, Sheikh Nasser Mohamed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait, King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho of Tonga, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri of Malaysia, the Crown Prince and Princess Srirasm of Thailand, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco, and Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
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In the evening, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall hosted a private Dinner for the Foreign Sovereigns at Buckingham Palace, at which the guests were pictured arriving and greeting the Prince and Duchess (making for some lovely videos).
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Again, the guests included:
King Michael of Romania and the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Tsar Simeon II and Tsaritsa Margarita of Bulgaria, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha of Brunei, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, The Emir of Qatar and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar. King Letsie III and Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, The King of Bahrain and Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, Sheikh Nasser Mohamed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait, King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho of Tonga, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri of Malaysia, the Crown Prince and Princess Srirasm of Thailand, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco, and Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
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The following morning, many of the Foreign Royals joined the Queen and members of the Royal Family for an Armed Forces Parade and Muster at Home Park in Windsor, though the guests were not pictured arriving, and can only be spotted in the crowd behind the Royal Family.
These are great photos of an equally great occasion! It’s incredible that 10 years have already passed. Many of the royals who attended that dinner are no longer with us and then others have retired. I haven’t read anywhere that a dinner such as this one is planned for the Platinum Jubilee, no doubt due to the Queen’s fragile state. So this Diamond Jubilee was indeed a very special gathering of royals. These are very significant historic photographs.