Prince Charles to make first royal trip to Cuba
London: Prince Charles will make the first- ever official British royal visit to Cuba in March, his office announced Friday, to mark improving ties between the two nations.
The heir to the throne and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will make a four- day visit to Cuba during a wider tour of the Caribbean, his Clarence House official residence said.
The tour ends on March 29 — the scheduled date of Britain’s departure from the European Union. There are no plans to meet Raul Castro, the brother of late former Communist ruler Fidel Castro, though the royals may meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club musical ensemble.
The March 24 to 27 Cuba trip, at the request of the British government, will “highlight the growing bilateral relationship with the UK and showcase some of the cultural links between the two countries”, Clarence House said.
Britain’s head of state Queen Elizabeth, now 92, has not made an overseas visit since 2015, meaning Charles and Camilla now do much of the heavy lifting work of foreign tours.
The whole tour, from March 17, will see them undertake more than 50 engagements across 10 islands, including Cuba. The royal couple will also
tour St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent and The Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis and Grenada to celebrate the monarchy’s relationship with those realms.
They are five of the 16 separate countries where Queen Elizabeth is the head of state. The visit
will finish in the British overseas territory of the Cayman Islands. The royals’ Cuba trip will see them tour Havana and the south coast.
The visit will see the couple meet a group of owners of British classic cars and visit a music studio where a meeting with Buena Vista Social Club members is being finalised.
“The prince and the duchess’ visit will highlight cultural and academic connections, links between the people of the UK and Cuba, and explore key themes, such as the arts, youth entrepreneurship, heritage restoration and sustainable agriculture,” said Clarence House.
They will be guests of honour at an official dinner hosted by President Miguel Diaz- Canel, who succeeded Raul Castro in April last year. It was said that both the couple are “looking forward to all sorts of things in Cuba”.