King Charles and Queen Camilla Will Acknowledge 'Painful' Past During State Visit to Kenya

The King and Queen will acknowledge a "painful" period in British colonial history during the visit

King Charles and Queen Camilla will recognize a dark moment in British colonial history when they travel to Kenya later this month for an official state visit.

The royal couple will “acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Wednesday announcing their trip.

Charles, 74, and Camilla, 76, will visit Kenya between October 31 and November 3. The state visit marks the first time the couple has visited a Commonwealth country since Charles became king following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth last year.

Ostensibly there to “celebrate the warm relationship between the two countries and the strong and dynamic partnership they continue to forge,” the visit will also hold a poignant memory for Charles. It was in Kenya — in 1952 — that Queen Elizabeth was told her father King George VI had died and she was now monarch.

The challenges in the years that followed the Queen’s accession are all too real. Between then and 1960, an uprising known as The Emergency took place. Led mostly by the Kikuyu people, the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule and internal Kenyan opposition to independence led to tens of thousands of deaths.

An estimated 11,000 Mau Mau rebels and others were killed, according to the BBC, but unofficial figures put the losses at much greater numbers. Some estimates say there were as many as 90,000 Kenyans executed, while more than 150,000 were detained.

“His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya. Together, Their Majesties will tour a new museum dedicated to Kenya’s history and will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens, as well as visiting the site of the declaration of Kenya’s independence in 1963,” the palace added as they confirmed the trip on Wednesday.

Charles' son Prince William has also recently addressed Britain's "difficult" past.

On Windrush Day in June 2022, William and his wife Kate Middleton participated in the unveiling of a memorial honoring the Windrush Generation in London. The prince used the occasion to recognize how the "past weighs heavily on the present" amid the controversy that followed the couple's Caribbean tour in March 2022, where their presence was met with protests over colonialism and calls to drop Queen Elizabeth as head of state.

The state visit by the royal couple is at the invitation of President William Ruto and comes as Kenya prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence.

The King and Queen will visit Nairobi City County, Mombasa County and surrounding areas. “Their Majesties’ program will reflect the ways in which Kenya and the United Kingdom are working together, notably to boost mutual prosperity, tackle climate change, promote youth opportunity and employment, advance sustainable development and create a more stable and secure region,” the palace added.

During the visit, King and Queen’s program will celebrate the close links between the British and Kenyan people in areas such as the creative arts, technology, enterprise, education and innovation.

Related: King Charles and Queen Camilla Arrive in Paris for Start of State Visit to France

Other highlights include a visit to Nairobi National Park to see vital conservation work being undertaken by the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is integral to Kenya’s thriving tourism industry.

As a longstanding advocate for women who have been abused, Camilla will meet survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, learning how they are supported and sharing her own insights from working in this area.

And, in her position as patron of the equine welfare charity Brooke, she will also be taken to see how the charity is working with the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals to rescue donkeys at risk and promote their welfare.

Charles, meanwhile, will meet faith leaders from Mombasa’s diverse community, hearing how they are working together to promote harmony amongst the city’s population, the palace said.

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The visit comes about two months after the couple visited France for a mini-tour that had been postponed since March.

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