{"id":2335739,"date":"2026-03-18T22:16:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2335739"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:16:04","slug":"duchess-sophie-mysteriously-absent-from-glittering-state-banquet-royal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/duchess-sophie-mysteriously-absent-from-glittering-state-banquet-royal-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Duchess Sophie mysteriously absent from glittering state banquet | Royal | News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">However her husband, <a target=\"_blank\" data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" title=\"Prince Edward\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/latest\/prince-edward\">Prince Edward<\/a> was in attendance &#8211; making her absence all the more striking given the significance of the occasion. The evening marked a major diplomatic moment, as it was the first Nigerian state visit to the UK in 37 years, bringing senior royals together at Windsor Castle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Also in attendance was Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, who opted for a timeless white gown &#8211; a piece she famously recycled from 1969, once again highlighting her commitment to sustainable royal dressing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>State banquets have long provided a backdrop for some of the most memorable royal fashion moments, and Sophie\u2019s appearance was no exception.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu were formally welcomed as the visit began, marking a significant moment in diplomatic relations. King Charles hosted Nigeria\u2019s first state visit to Britain in nearly four decades, underlining its importance on the global stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The visit celebrates the ties between the UK and Africa\u2019s most populous nation, with a focus on strengthening economic partnerships and cultural connections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The President and First Lady were received by the King and Queen before taking part in a grand carriage procession to Windsor Castle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A ceremonial welcome followed, featuring a military display and inspection of the Guard of Honour, while inside the castle a special exhibition from the Royal Collection showcased items linked to Nigeria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The King later held a private audience with President Tinubu, reflecting the significance of the discussions taking place behind closed doors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>As the day unfolded, further engagements took place across the Windsor estate, including visits to historic locations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>However her husband, Prince Edward was in attendance &#8211; making her absence all the more striking given the significance of the occasion. The evening marked a major diplomatic moment, as it was the first Nigerian state visit to the UK in 37 years, bringing senior royals together at Windsor Castle. Also in attendance was Princess [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2335740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[357590,452448,37258,22769,324590],"class_list":["post-2335739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-duchess-of-edinburgh","tag-duchess-sophie-state-banquet-latest","tag-prince-edward","tag-royal-family","tag-sophie"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Duchess-Sophie-mysteriously-absent-from-glittering-state-banquet-Royal.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2335739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2335741,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335739\/revisions\/2335741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2335740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2335739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2335739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2335739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}