Royals Welcome the Sultan of Oman to a Rainy Windsor
Catherine, Princess of Wales joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla to welcome Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman at Windsor Castle on Oct. 20.
The three-day visit, scheduled for Oct. 20 to Oct. 22, is a state visit, the highest-level formal visit held at the king's invitation. The sultan will stay at Windsor Castle during the trip. Rain fell through the morning welcome ceremony, according to Yahoo News.
The sultan received an official military welcome in Windsor. The king, the queen and the princess watched the arrival ceremony from a royal dais, a raised viewing platform, on Datchet Road in Windsor, as reported by Town & Country.
The day started in two parts. Prince William met the sultan at his London residence and traveled with him to Windsor. The princess did not join that pickup. She arrived with Charles and Camilla for the ceremonial welcome.
The procession into Windsor ran on horsepower. Charles rode with the sultan in the Irish State Coach. Camilla rode in the Scottish State Coach with Oman's deputy prime minister for defense affairs. William and the princess followed in the Australian State Coach with Oman's deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the secretary general of the Diwan of the Royal Court, the sultan's executive office. The coaches are horse-drawn carriages kept for formal royal occasions.
The prince and princess were also seen with the Crown Prince of Oman, Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said.
The princess dressed for the weather in deep green. She wore a dark green coat by Sarah Burton, with a matching hat by Juliette Botterill and a forest green Chanel handbag. Burton, the British designer who made the princess's wedding dress, is no longer at Alexander McQueen and now designs under her own name. The princess offered a curtsy to the sultan on arrival, People reported.
There is history on both sides. The last state visit by a sultan of Oman to Britain was in 1982, when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Sultan Qaboos bin Said at Buckingham Palace. Charles visited Oman four times when he was Prince of Wales. In July 2025, he received Sultan Haitham for tea and a private meeting at Windsor Castle.
What makes this stand out for American readers is the setting. Windsor, not Buckingham Palace in London, is now the usual stage for this kind of pageantry. The uniforms, the carriages and the curtsy do the diplomatic work.
