King Charles ‘delighted’ with Prince William’s key role as Harry goes unmentioned in State Banquet speech

The event marks the first State Visit by an Omani ruler to the United Kingdom since 1982.

Highlighting Prince William’s involvement in international diplomacy, the King noted: “Our connections matter deeply and, in this regard, I have been especially delighted to see our sons, The Prince of Wales and His Highness Sayyid Theyazin, become joint patrons of the Jewel of Arabia expedition.

“Your Majesty, there can be few happier symbols of success than a living relationship being passed from one generation to the next.”

King Charles’s younger son, Prince Harry, was unsurprisingly not mentioned in the monarch’s State Banquet speech.

It comes hours after GQ Magazine released a sit-down interview with the Duke of Sussex, who admitted he wants reconciliation with his family.

Buckingham Palace is yet to formally comment on the interview.

Turning to modern global challenges in his speech, the King addressed rapid technological developments, warning of the strategic risks facing future leaders: “Your Majesty, neither of us can know precisely what challenges our successors will face.

“Despite our constant efforts, climate change will regrettably alter the lands and seas they inherit.

“Artificial Intelligence holds both promise and peril – unless managed with great wisdom and foresight.

“Competition for resources will test the international order in ways we cannot yet foresee.”

He stressed that incoming generations would depend on established international alliances, stating: “But this much we do know: our successors will rely on trusted friends.

“They will need allies prepared to work together across difference; to defend peace and international law; to marry innovation with stewardship; and to think not merely about the next year, but about generations to come.”

The address linked past treaties to contemporary bilateral ties, citing historical agreements: “For centuries, Oman and Britain have done precisely that.

“In the Treaty we signed in 1800, our predecessors hoped that the friendship between our two states would remain ‘unshook till the end of time’.

“It was an ambitious promise but, more than two hundred years later, it has proved to be a promise fulfilled by the living connections between Britain and Oman, embodied in the generations of relationships that have forged an unshakable friendship between us.”

The King also praised Oman’s diplomatic role in Middle Eastern stability, saying: “Oman’s role across the Gulf and her ‘constructive neutrality’, as you put it, matters far beyond Hormuz, and is worthy of our utmost respect.”