Locsin: King Charles III keen on visiting PHL anew
DIPLOMAT, lawmaker and journalist Teodoro Locsin Jr. is now officially the country’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James.
This, as he presented his credentials to His Majesty King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on May 16.
In a statement, the Philippine Embassy in London said “Locsin holds the distinction of being the first [head of mission in London and the first Philippine ambassador to present credentials to the king after his coronation on May 6].”
Locsin congratulated the monarch on his recent coronation, and conveyed optimism for stronger relations between the Philippines and the United Kingdom.
“The King expressed gratitude for the contributions of Filipinos in the UK, particularly health-care workers, and expressed hope to meet with and engage the community more,” the embassy said.
Charles in town?
THE King said he is looking forward to an opportunity to come to the Philippines again “soon,” the Embassy shared.
As crown prince, King Charles went on a state visit to Manila in 1997 after the Hong Kong handover to China, then met with former president Fidel V. Ramos.
In his tweet, Locsin said the 62nd British monarch asked him about former first lady Imelda Marcos, then assured that “she was in good health.”
Locsin shared with the king that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. studied in the UK in the 1970s: “I told him that ‘the young President Marcos’—as I refer to him—went to school in England. He asked where. I said the Catholic boarding school, Worth…and then, Oxford.”
Phil. delegation
FOLLOWING the credentials-presentation ceremony, the ambassador and Mrs. Ma. Lourdes Barcelon-locsin signed the Buckingham Palace guest book.
During the presentation, King Charles III was assisted by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office permanent undersecretary Sir Philip Robert Barton KCMG OBE, and His Majesty’s marshal of the Diplomatic Corps William Alistair Harrison CMG CVO.
Aside from his wife, the ambassador was accompanied by Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General Rhenita B. Rodriguez, Minister and Consul Ana Marie L. Hernando, Third Secretary and Vice Consul Beatriz Alexandra G. Martinez, as well as Third Secretary and Vice Consul Emilio O. Lopue Jr.