Amid all the splendour and pageantry of a state visit this week, King Charles and Japan's Emperor Naruhito will reignite a friendship forged over fly-fishing and barbecues at Balmoral.
Naruhito, 64, and Empress Masako, 60, have been staying at Claridge's in Mayfair after arriving on Saturday. The official visit begins from lunchtime today and lasts until Thursday morning. Prince Naruhito, Princess of Wales, Princess Diana and Prince of Wales, Prince Charles are seen at the Shugakuin Imperial Villa on May 9, 1986 in Kyoto
Read More Kon'nichiwa! Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako touch down at Stansted ahead of state visit 'The Prince of Wales carefully taught me how to put on a hair hook and how to throw it,' he said. 'I remember that the Queen shared stories about her visit to Japan and inquired about my upcoming life in the UK.'
The Duke of Edinburgh took Naruhito around Balmoral in January 1985 for what was in effect a tutorial in ecology and his first experience of British wild lifeKing Charles, then the Prince of Wales, arrives for Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, October 2019 Empress Masako, by then a young diplomat, studied international relations at Balliol College between 1988 and 1990.
Her doctors have said she is not fully recovered and Masako, like Queen Camilla, still struggles at times with foreign travel.Japan's monarchy, like Britain's, has faced turmoil in recent years and is grappling with running as a slimmed-down entity. And this year of course has seen both the King and the Princess of Wales take time out to undergo cancer treatment.
Britain changed its antiquated succession laws in 2013 to ensure that girls from then on enjoyed the same rights as boys, instead of older daughters such as Princess Anne having to sit behind their younger brothers in the line to the throne.Dr Prescott believes there will have to be consensus in public opinion before the monarchy in Japan can move on.
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrive at Stansted airport on Saturday afternoon, with members of the RAF and UK officials on hand to greet them