The first Omani state visit in 44 years mixed carriages and a banquet with a long list of government business.
LONDON, England (Crown and Clown) – What exactly is a state visit for? The cynical answer is carriages, gilded china and a lot of men in bearskins. The more accurate answer, as the Sultan of Oman’s trip to Windsor showed, is that the Crown provides the staging while ministers bring the paperwork.
A welcome built for the cameras
The official Royal website account sets out the choreography. The Prince of Wales greeted Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on the King’s behalf, after which the Sultan was welcomed at Datchet Road in Windsor by the King and Queen, joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales. A Royal Salute and the Omani national anthem followed, then a carriage procession through the town to the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, where the Sultan inspected a Guard of Honour with the King.
The ceremony had a few thoughtful touches. In the Green Drawing Room the King and Queen showed their guest items from the Royal Collection connected to Oman, including a book presented to Queen Victoria in 1875 and two of the King’s own watercolours of Oman, painted during a 1995 tour. At the State Banquet in St George’s Hall the drinks list included teas inspired by the Omani coffee ritual of Kahwa, among them a warm cardamom blend sweetened with Windsor honey, and the Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra played.
What the King said, and why it was careful
The substance came in the speech. Al Jazeera reported that the King praised Oman as a “trusted interlocutor to all parties,” a phrase that lands heavily given that Oman has mediated talks between the United States and Iran since the war on Iran began in late February, as that outlet describes it. The report adds that the Sultan said his country had chosen an independent path and that Britain had been a friend on it.
The King also paid tribute to what The National reports as Muscat’s “noble efforts” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and it noted that he spoke partly in Arabic. This is the kind of diplomacy the monarchy is best at: warm, personal and phrased so that no one can accuse the Crown of choosing a side. The personal thread, from the King’s 1995 tour of Oman to the watercolours it produced, helps, and The National describes Oman as one of Britain’s oldest allies and closest friends.
Where the government took over
Behind the banquet sat a long list of government business. Al Jazeera notes that the chief executives of Shell, BP and Airbus attended the banquet, and that the Sultan was due at Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with security, trade and investment on the agenda. The National reports that Downing Street spoke of taking the partnership to a new level across security, defence, trade and education, and that the visit followed the UK-GCC trade agreement signed earlier this year.
- UK Export Finance is set to raise its financing capacity for exports to Oman to as much as 7 billion pounds.
- Officials were expected to sign deals including participation in a $1 billion data centre in Salalah.
- An agreement on maritime cooperation, including information-sharing, was also expected.
- The UK will bring back the Chevening Scholarship Programme for Oman.
Those items are reported as planned or expected, and I have seen no reporting on how any of them turned out, so treat the figures as announcements rather than results. The National also reports that the Prime Minister and the Sultan share an interest in a growth hub at Al Batinah, modelled on a project Mr Burnham led as Mayor of Manchester, which is a nice reminder that politics is local even when the guest of honour is a head of state.
The constitutional question nobody asks at the banquet
Al Jazeera describes the government as hosting the visit and arranging the Downing Street talks, while the Palace handled the pomp. That arrangement has two sides. For admirers it is an ingenious division of labour: the King supplies the warmth and the history, ministers supply the deals, and nobody has to pretend the two are separate. For critics it is a way of lending the monarchy’s prestige to commercial and strategic interests that voters did not choose to endorse in a ceremonial setting.
Both views have merit. The practical question for readers in London is whether the public ever gets a clear account of what was agreed behind the pageantry. The tea was documented in loving detail; the contracts will take longer.
The lighter side for Londoners
Windsor is not Westminster, but the diplomatic calendar belongs to the whole country. For readers who want to relax after a day of treaties and tiaras, English humor news and British humor news offer a gentler take on the same national habits, and Britain’s answer to the Onion remains a loyal favourite.
I cover the Crown for The London Prat, and more of my royal and Westminster reporting at The London Prat is there for the asking, while Bohiney Magazine carries the sister coverage. The next time a gilded carriage rolls through Windsor, it is worth asking who is paying, who is signing and who is waving.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/