King and Queen arrive in Kenya for State Visit

Blackleaf

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been given a warm welcome by Kenya's President and First Lady on the start of their State Visit to Kenya to mark 60 years since Kenya gained its independence from Britain.

The British Head of State and wife Queen Camilla were greeted by President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Chebet.

Ruto became Kenya's President just five days after Charles III ascended the Throne.

The East African nation with a population of 47 million gained its independence from Britain on 12th December 1963.

The King's mother Queen Elizabeth II was in Kenya the moment she became Queen in 1952.

 
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Blackleaf

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The King has laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on the first day of his state visit to Kenya.

The King and Queen were then shown the Mugumo tree - the site of the declaration of Kenya’s independence from Britain where the Union Flag was brought down in 1963.

 
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Blackleaf

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Say what you want but Chuck can really wear a suit.

I suppose he's had a lot of practice in doing that over the decades.

In the old days we used to remark on what outfit the Queen wore and her hat. Nowadays, now that we have a king again, it's just suit and tie everyday.
 

Blackleaf

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Or maybe "ended Briddish occupation on 12th December 1963."

My mum when she was a little girl and her two brothers (my Uncle Alan and Uncle Stephen) and their mother and father lived in Kenya when it was part of the British Empire because my grandfather was an officer in the British Army and he was stationed in that part of the Empire. They lived in a grand and beautiful house with verandas and beautiful views. I always remember my mum telling me and my brother and sister over the years how she and her older brother Alan and younger brother Stephen became good friends of the local Masai Mara people and went out hunting with them and having fun with them. I've always been a bit jealous because it seemed like a great life. My uncles also regaled my cousins with the great tales of Kenya and the Masai Mara and it's like a big thing in the family.

They also lived in other parts of the Empire such as Yemen and Singapore. In Singapore they lived in a house on stilts to stop it flooding during the rainy season and my Uncle Stephen woke up one night while lying on the sofa to see the ghost of a man sitting in the armchair.

Unfortunately, the British Empire is no more.
 
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Tecumsehsbones

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My mum when she was a little girl and her two brothers (my Uncle Alan and Uncle Stephen) and their mother and father lived in Kenya when it was part of the British Empire because my grandfather was an officer in the British Army and he was stationed in that part of the Empire. They lived in a grand and beautiful house with verandas and beautiful views. I always remember my mum telling me and my brother and sister over the years how she and her older brother Alan and younger brother Stephen became good friends of the local Masai Mara people and went out hunting with them and having fun with them. I've always been a bit jealous because it seemed like a great life.
Most things are when you live in a grand and beautiful house.
 

Blackleaf

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Most things are when you live in a grand and beautiful house.

Yeah. It was a nice house. I remember seeing a black and white photo of my grandfather in his uniform and my grandmother in a nice dress and three young children stood on the veranda with a Kenyan man and woman stood alongside. I don't think they were servants but were employed by the family. And I've often thought how great it would have been for my mum and her brothers to go in these adventures with their Masai Mara friends, hunting animals for food and learning their culture. It seems like it was a great life.