The Portuguese president will be received by the British monarch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday morning, where the two national anthems will be played and the two heads of state will judge the English and Portuguese soldiers in the parade.
Later they will participate in a ceremony in the Capela da Rainha of the Palace of Saint James, which was used by Queen Catarina de Bragança (1638-1705), married to the English King Carlos II.
The Anglican religious service will include readings from biblical texts and contemporary English and Portuguese music, performed by musicians and two choirs, and will last approximately 40 minutes in total.
Official representatives from Portugal and the United Kingdom will be in attendance, including the respective foreign ministers, João Gomes Cravinho and James Cleverly.
The chapel will display the original of the Treaty of London of 1373, signed by Edward III of England and Fernando I of Portugal, which started the world’s longest lasting diplomatic alliance.
Following the event, the Portuguese President will be invited to a reception hosted by the current Duke of Wellington, Charles of Wellesley, at Apsley House, the family’s former residence, which is now a heritage site and museum.
Wellesley is a descendant of Arthur, the Duke of Wellington who fought against the French invasions of the Iberian Peninsula between 1808 and 1813 and even commanded the Portuguese forces.
At the time, success in repelling Napoleon’s troops earned the British military officer the titles of Marquis of the Douro, Duke of Victoria, Marquis of Torres Vedras, and Count of Vimeiro.
The British king will not be in attendance, but will be represented by his mother’s cousin, the Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, and his wife, the Duchess of Gloucester, Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Carlos III were recently together at a reception at Buckingham Palace on the eve of the British monarch’s coronation ceremony on May 6.
Earlier, on Wednesday afternoon, the president will visit the Taste of London gastronomic festival, which celebrates Portugal with an enlarged pavilion and activities promoted by Turismo de Portugal.
In the evening, he will be the special guest at a dinner hosted by the Portuguese Diaspora Council and the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK, by invitation only.
The celebration of the 650th anniversary of the Luso-British Alliance is the result of an unofficial, non-profit, voluntary initiative launched in 2018 and called Portugal-UK 650.
Portugal-UK 650 estimates that it has promoted at least 300 activities over the past four years with more than 180 partners in areas such as academic research, education, culture, economics or the military.
Source: DN
