Kate to play a part in Emir of Qatar’s state visit

The Princess of Wales is set to play a role in the Emir of Qatar’s state visit to the UK next week.

Kate, who is recovering from cancer, will join her husband the Prince of Wales in greeting Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the first of his three wives, Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani, at Kensington Palace on December 3.

William and Kate are then due to travel with the pair to Horse Guards Parade, where they will receive a ceremonial welcome before meeting the King and Queen.

Presentations will be made, a royal salute will occur and the Qatari national anthem is set to be played.

However, Kate will not attend the grand state banquet hosted by the King at Buckingham Palace in the evening, Kensington Palace said.

The princess, 42, has made just a handful of public appearances so far in 2024, after she underwent major abdominal surgery in January and then was diagnosed with cancer.

Last month, Kate made a surprise visit with her husband William to meet the bereaved families of the victims of the Southport attack.

She also honoured the war dead at Remembrance events earlier this month.

In a video the princess released in September, she revealed she had finished her chemotherapy treatment, and spoke of how she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months”.

But she added her focus was “doing what I can to stay cancer free”.

The Emir and Sheikha Jawaher will arrive next Monday afternoon at London Stansted Airport ahead of their two-day visit.

On the following day, the pair are set to view a special exhibition relating to Qatar at Buckingham Palace.

There will also be a visit to Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster.

On the morning of December 4, the Emir will visit the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before travelling to Buckingham Palace to formally bid farewell to the King and Queen.

Qatar – one of the richest Gulf states – is a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war.

But the country has faced criticism over its human rights record, in particular its criminalisation of same-sex relationships.

Charles visited the country eight times as the Prince of Wales and met the Emir at the Cop28 summit in Dubai in December.

The Qatari leader and Sheikha Jawaher also attended the King’s coronation in Westminster Abbey, and the late Queen’s funeral.

Sheikh Tamim, 44, was educated in Britain, attending public schools Sherborne and Harrow, before graduating from the Sandhurst military academy.

He set up Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2005, which owns the French football team Paris Saint-Germain.

In 2022, Charles as the Prince of Wales faced criticism after being presented with cash – reportedly totalling three million euros and some of it in a suitcase – from a former Qatari prime minister between 2011 and 2015.

The Sunday Times said the then-heir to the throne personally accepted the donations for his charity the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim – who was prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013.

A royal source said in 2022 the prince operated on advice and such incidents have not happened in the past half decade and would not happen again.