King Charles III honours Sultan Haitham with state banquet at Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle hosted a state banquet on Tuesday evening in honour of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman, hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla during the sultan’s state visit to the United Kingdom. Before the dinner, the three monarchs greeted invited guests.

King Charles’s tribute: A friendship rooted in history

Opening the evening, King Charles delivered an address highlighting the deep historical ties between Britain and Oman. He noted that Omani mariners traded across the Indian Ocean a millennium before the first British-Omani encounters, extending frankincense trails that had already spanned Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean for two thousand years. The king traced the relationship from maritime partners in the seventeenth century through treaty partners in the eighteenth, strategic partners in the nineteenth, and brothers-in-arms in the twentieth, to the present-day bonds of diplomacy, defence, trade and trust.

Charles recalled personal visits to Oman, including painting its landscapes with the sultan, and quoted the fourteenth-century explorer Ibn Battuta, who described Oman as “most striking in beauty.” He also cited the Omani poet Abu Muslim al-Bahlani: “May those gardens remain ever green, their breezes fragrant with peace.”

The king paid tribute to the late Sultan Qaboos, describing him as a “dear friend and brother” whose leadership transformed Oman while preserving its culture and pursuing a foreign policy of openness and dialogue. He praised Sultan Haitham’s Vision 2040 for diversifying and decarbonising the economy, placing skills and education at the centre of development and empowering young Omanis as drivers of innovation.

Charles commended Oman’s role as a trusted interlocutor in a region where conflict has returned, particularly its efforts to keep open vital shipping routes, which he said served the entire international community. He referenced the Prophet Muhammad’s saying about the people of Oman: “Had you gone to the people of Oman, they would neither have insulted nor struck you.”

The king highlighted the Loan Service Officers serving both nations, Oman’s hospitality to British armed forces, and the joint patronage of the Jewel of Arabia expedition by the Prince of Wales and Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham. He concluded by acknowledging shared challenges such as climate change and artificial intelligence, but expressed confidence in a friendship that, as a treaty signed in 1800 pledged, would remain “unshook till the end of time.”

Sultan Haitham’s reply: A bond that endures

Sultan Haitham bin Tarik responded with an address expressing gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality. He recalled the 1800 treaty between Oman and Great Britain, which declared friendship would endure “till the sun and the moon have finished their revolving career,” and noted that after more than 220 years, that friendship still stands unshaken.

The sultan emphasised the strength of military cooperation, with Omani and British forces training and serving together for generations, and the exchange of officers at academies. He highlighted the growing number of young Omanis studying at British institutions, describing how they build bridges between the two peoples. He joked about becoming familiar with “English time” as a young man.

Sultan Haitham welcomed the news that the Prince of Wales had agreed to join Sayyid Theyazin as patrons of the British Omani Society, and noted Britain’s role as one of Oman’s largest trading partners and the single largest source of foreign direct investment. He reiterated Oman’s commitment to an independent path of dialogue, understanding and peace, and praised King Charles’s dedication to youth, environmental protection and interfaith dialogue as values shared by Oman.

He closed with a prayer for the king’s health and long life, and for the friendship between the two nations to continue like the revolving sun and moon.

Attendees and ceremony

The state banquet was attended by the official Omani delegation accompanying Sultan Haitham, members of the British Royal Family, and senior officials.