The King and Queen at a reception for the Kenyan diaspora in the UK at Buckingham Palace (Image: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty)
At a Buckingham Palace reception for the Kenyan diaspora ahead of his and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the East African country next week, he gazed wistfully at a picture of the iconic Treetops game viewing lodge.
It was burnt down by Mau Mau rebels in May 1954 because it was used as a lookout by British soldiers and replaced by a larger hotel, which the late Queen and Prince Philip stayed at during a state visit in 1983.
But the hotel in Aberdare National Park has failed to reopen since closing in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic and will not feature on the royal couple’s four-day state visit to the country, their first trip to a Commonwealth country in the new reign.
Camilla, looking at a picture of the original three-room lodge, where her late mother-in-law famously went up a tree overlooking an elephant watering hole as a Princess and came down a Queen in February 1952, asked: “Is it no longer with us? Oh dear, it’s collapsed.”
The King said: “It’s a great shame.”
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Camilla who was wearing a brown leopard print dress by Fiona Clarer eplied: “Yes, it is. It’s really sad. One of the iconic places. It’s sad it’s gone.”
Her husband, pointing at the towering wooden structure, added: “It must have been quite exciting getting up there.”
He also smiled at a photograph of his parents in the grounds of Sagana Lodge, Nyeri, during the same visit.
The lodge had been a wedding present to the couple from the people of Kenya and in 1963 Her Late Majesty gifted it back to them to mark their independence from Britain.
The King also spotted a photograph of his first visit to Kenya as Prince of Wales in 1971 when he shook the hand of the country’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta.
“I remember it very well,” he said. “He must have been standing on a very high step,” he added, pointing to their difference in height as they shook hands.
A general view of the Treetops Hotel, where in 1952 the 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth became Queen (Image: Billy Mutai/Anadolu Agency via Getty)
The 74-year-old monarch also examined Kenyan gifts given to Queen Elizabeth over the years, including a wooden giraffe and a stool bearing her name in Swahili – Kwa Malkia Elizabeth Wa Pili.
There was also her speech from a visit in 1972 in which she thanked the Kenyan people for hosting her eldest son and daughter, Princess Anne, the previous year for a visit “of which they have spoken to me with vivid enthusiasm and pleasure”.
Around 350 guests were at the reception, which was designed to celebrate the warm relationship between the two countries and the “strong and dynamic partnership” they are forging for the future.
The King with Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinda Chadha (Image: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty)
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The King and Queen welcomed Kenyans from fields including business, media, charity, art, sport, government and military, as well as representatives of Their Majesties’ patronages which operate in Kenya.
Elizabeth Kangethe came to the UK with her son more than 20 years ago to teach and is now a Labour councillor on Barking and Dagenham Council.
She was named by her parents after Queen Elizabeth as they were such admirers of both her and the Royal Family.
“I feel a great affinity with them. I learnt about the Royal Family from a very young age,” she said.
“My parents thought of Queen Elizabeth as a great role model. It is something I have come to appreciate working in leadership, just what a great leader she was for so many years. There is a lot we can all learn from her.
“The King is so cool. He is so down-to-earth. I am very proud of the way he is embracing Kenya. He will receive a very warm welcome. Everyone is very excited about it.”
She made a veiled reference to the violence that led to Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963 and the regret that the UK has expressed for its treatment of many people during attempts to suppress the revolt.
Councillor Kangethe said: “We have changed as countries since independence. Things happened that shouldn’t have but life has moved on and we are glad that we are both moving together forwards. There is a lot of affection between the two countries.
“I have had so many opportunities since I came to the UK that I want to contribute. This is where my children are growing up and is my home. But I am proud of my Kenyan roots.”
Vanessa Kingori of Conde Nast received an OBE from the King in July and said he jokingly asked why she wasn’t wearing it.
She said of the visit: “It is really special to be here to see so many of the Kenyan community out. It is so magical to see the Kenyan community in this incredible setting.
“There is such a connection between Kenya and the UK. Kenyans feel very proud of the royal association and there is a lot of affection for the King. For young Kenyans to be reintroduced to him so early in his reign is very significant.
“It’s a new day and there is a need for a new approach with some young Kenyans who will not have had that contact with [the Royal Family] and remember those visits like older Kenyans do. This is a great opportunity to make fresh connections with a new Kenyan generation. “
High Commissioner Manoah Esipisu said: “Friendships are about ensuring at the highest level we can see exchanges in everything from education to culture, trade and the military.
“His Majesty’s decision to visit us as his first Commonwealth country is a really commendable thing.”
The King and Queen’s state visit to Kenya, which will last from October 31 to November 3, is at the invitation of President William Ruto and on the advice of the British Government.
It comes as Kenya prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence on December 12.
