Kate Middleton and Prince William Ride in London Carriage Procession with King Charles and Queen Camilla

Kate Middleton and Prince William are back in a royal carriage!

The Prince and Princess of Wales joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla in a dazzling horse-drawn carriage procession through London to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday as part of the first state visit of the new monarch's reign.

The royal pageantry carried the visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the palace, as the British royal family carried out a full ceremonial welcome. The president rode with King Charles and Queen Camilla as the couple sat side-by-side in the Irish State Coach, which is the traditional coach the monarch uses to travel from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster to formally open the new legislative session of the U.K. Parliament. It was also the carriage that the future Queen Elizabeth rode in with her father, King George VI, to Westminster Abbey on her 1947 wedding day to Prince Philip.

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Meanwhile, Kate and Prince William were in the Australian State Coach with South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, with Prince William riding beside their guest. The carriage was a gift to Queen Elizabeth from Australia in May 1988 to mark the Australian Bicentennial.

The ride up the famous Mall, which was decorated with the flags of the two countries, took place after a parade of hundreds of soldiers and music on Horse Guards Parade earlier. King Charles was joined President Ramaphosa as they inspected the troops. Despite the president's wife, First Lady Dr. Tshepo Motsepe, being listed by the palace when the visit was announced in October, she did not join him.

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The royal family's social media accounts also shared a sped-up video of the procession as it arrived at Buckingham Palace.

More than 1,000 British Army soldiers and 230 horses participated in the parade, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said.

In Green Park, across the road from Buckingham Palace, there was a Royal Gun Salute from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery at 12:10 p.m. local time.

Earlier in the day, Prince William and Kate took the lead in officially welcoming President Ramaphosa to the U.K. after he arrived privately on Monday. The royal couple hosted their visitor at the Cornelia Hotel in Kensington, not far from their London base.

Kate and Prince William, 40, had their last carriage ride in June as they arrived for Royal Ascot. Members of the royal family are a fixture at the iconic horse race each year.

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Earlier the same month, Kate was joined by her three children in their first public carriage ride as part of Trooping the Colour. The annual parade for Queen Elizabeth's birthday was even more special this year, as it was part of the late monarch's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, marking her historic 70 years on the throne. While Kate rode through London with Camilla, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, Prince William took part in the parade on horseback along with King Charles.

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President Ramaphosa's trip marks the first state visit of the new reign, though much of the organization is believed to have taken place before the late Queen Elizabeth died. As COVID curtailed visits and international travel, this is the first state visit hosted by the British royal family since 2019.

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Later on Tuesday, a centerpiece of the two-day state visit will take place when a glittering state banquet will be hosted at Buckingham Palace, complete with tiaras and ballgowns.

The palace gave a sneak peek at the preparations for the banquet on social media, sharing a video from the kitchens, where staff were busy preparing the food. As a special touch, they're also creating decorations in the shape of the national flower of South Africa, the Protea.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales took part in their first state visit and state banquet in 2015 when Chinese President Xi Jinping was the guest of the late Queen.