Housekeeping Notes: This post will remain open until Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ET. The office of First Lady in South Korea no longer exists, so Mrs. Kim Keon Hee prefers the title “President’s Spouse” to First Lady.
The President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Yoon Suk Yeol, accompanied by Mrs Kim Keon Hee, will pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom as the guest of His Majesty The King from 21st to 23rd November 2023.
https://www.royal.uk/korea-update
Schedule
- Monday, November 20
- His Excellency Yoon Suk Yel and Mrs. Kim Keon Hee will arrive privately in the United Kingdom
- Tuesday, November 21
- Prince and Princess of Wales greet the President and Mrs. Hee at their hotel on behalf of His Majesty, the King.
- Both couples will travel to the Horse Guards Parade and observe a Ceremonial Welcome.
- The King and Queen formally welcome the Korean President and The President’s Spouse at the Royal Pavilion
- Inspection of the Guard of Honor and carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Place
- Private lunch at Buckingham Palace
- Visit to Westminster Abbey
- Visit to the Palace of Westminster
- The King, Queen, and other members of the Royal Family will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace
- Wednesday, November 22
- President attends “Shaping the Future”
- The Duchess of Edinburgh accompanies The President to a roundtable discussion on advancing humanity
- The President and Mrs. Hee visit with the Prime Minister
- The President and Mrs. Hee will be joined by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for a Banquet at the Guildhall, hosted by the Lord Mayor and City of London
- Thursday, November 23
- Visit to the Churchill War Rooms
- Lord Chamberlin bids farewell to The President on behalf of the King
Tuesday, November 21
The official welcome is underway. There is a subtle nod to the Korean flag going on between the Queen and Princess of Wales, which is a nice solution to diplomatic dressing without being a total costume. The Princess rewore her Catherine Walker bow tie dress (or maybe not, as some have pointed out that the dress underneath is shorter and straighter), with a new, probably custom coat. She loves those sapphire and diamond earrings! The Queen also wore sapphires, in the form of the brilliant Russian sapphire brooch. I am thrilled to see a return to big hats on both, and the addition of some floof for Cams. I am ignoring the return of the boots.
The screaming you heard across the world was the shout of collective Baguettes spotting the Princess of Wales bringing out the Strathmore Rose tiara for the first time in almost 100 years. Outside of that excitement, there was a debut of the Queen in the Burmese Ruby tiara and the Duchess of Gloucester bringing out her rarely seen Diamond and Emerald tiara – the one that converts all diamonds and allows you to pop out two diamond clip brooches. A real workhorse, there! Princess Anne was in her Festoon tiara and the Duchess of Edinburgh was in her aquamarine. The Queen wore a brilliant red gown, and the other royal women held up their end in white.
Apologies for the rather blurry screen captures, but they are all we have of the Princess Royal and Duchess of Gloucester. Thanks to LiL, Iselen, and Wendy for grabbing them for us!
Wednesday, November 22
The Duchess of Edinburgh accompanied the President to the Royal Society in London today. It’s a new coat for the Duchess, by Chloe Long. Her corduroy dress is by Aspiga.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester accompanied the President and his wife to the Guildhall Banquet. The Duchess is wearing the Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara with Topaz Jewels.
Thursday, November 23
King Charles and Queen Camilla bid a formal farewell to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee at Buckingham Palace today. The Queen then hosted a reception at Clarence House for the Booker Prize Foundation.