How King Charles will treat the South African president to dinner at first State Banquet

King Charles will treat South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to a fine menu of stuffed Windsor pheasant and grilled brill with wild mushrooms tonight as part of his state visit.

Mr Ramaphosa, whose visit was in the planning before Queen Elizabeth II‘s death, was greeted by more than 1,000 soldiers, 230 horses, seven military bands and two state coaches earlier today.

This evening he will be an honoured guest at a State Banquet held by the King, Queen Consort and other members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.

The event will offer a lavish menu of two mains: grilled brill with wild mushrooms, truffles and sorrel sauce or ballotine of Windsor Pheasant filled with artichokes, quince compote and port sauce.

It is a departure from the banquets of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who often favoured Balmoral venison or lamb from one of the other royal estates when hosting foreign dignitaries. 

The sides will include a selection of assorted Chantenay carrots, kale with roasted butternut squash, braised fondant potatoes and salad.

Iced Vanilla Parfait with Caramelised Apples or coffee and bite-sized confectionery are the options for dessert.

There are wines on offer to accompany the luxurious food, including a Château Feytit-Clinet, Pomerol 2000 that tastes of ‘melted liquorish, cherries and earth’, plus £75 Taylor’s Vintage Port 1983.

Others include Ridgeview Blanc de Blancs 2016, an English sparkling wine that goes at £60 a bottle, a £77 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru, a Morgeot, Clos de la Chapelle, Domaine Duc de Magenta 2014 which goes for £61 and Château Rieussec 1er Grand Cru Classé Sauternes 2007 which is £55.

Yesterday the kitchens at Buckingham Palace also created the national flowers of South Africa, Protea, out of sugar and edible colouring, for the State Banquet. 

Preparations for a State Banquet begin well over a year in advance, but the final ‘build’ of the State Banquet table starts around five days ahead of the arrival of the visiting Head of State.

The operational arm of Buckingham Palace, The Master of the Household’s department, take the main bulk of the responsibility for ensuring the Banquet runs according to plan.

Once the tablecloths have been laid the napkins, folded into a Dutch bonnet shape, are usually the first items to go on the table. 

After the Banqueting table is put together, and the decorative display is delivered, unpacked and positioned in place, the final touches are added.

Place settings are measured at exactly 45 centimetres apart. A setting comprises two knives and forks with a dessert spoon and fork above; to the left of each place are a porcelain side plate and a silver butter knife, and a small glass butter dish.

The table length can be adjusted but the usual set-up measures 23 metres (75 ft) by 8.5 metres (28 ft), and is always clothed. 

Preparations in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, begin as close to the event as possible — with every dish handmade from scratch.

The Grand Service comprises not only the dining plate itself, but also decorative items such as dessert stands and centrepieces. Numbering over 4,000 pieces, the service was commissioned by George IV.

The Grand Service includes 14 tureens, 20 sauce tureens, 140 dishes, 288 dinner plates, 118 salts, 12 ice pails, 12 mirrored plateaux, 58 dessert stands and centrepieces and 107 candelabra.

Over a thousand glasses are used at a Banquet – every guest is given six glasses. A further champagne glass for the toasts is also provided.

Each guest also receives a glass finger bowl during the fruit course, usually placed on top of a linen doily and a Tournai porcelain plate.

Every element of the State Banquet is inspected, checked and approved by the monarch, who will also view the table in person before retiring to get dressed.

Around 170 guests are expected, requiring 1,700 pieces of cutlery all laid out using rulers to get the precise spacing measurements correct.

The State Banquet takes place on the first night of a State Visit.

The guests include members of the government, the diplomatic corps, and other figures connected with the visiting nation. The Banquet is both a welcome to the Head of State and a chance to cement diplomatic relations.

Banquets at Buckingham Palace are held in the Ballroom, around a large horseshoe-shaped table, with The King and the visiting Head of State sitting in the centre.

Earlier today Charles III laid on a Guard of Honour for the South African president before joining him in a golden carriage ride to Buckingham Palace as he held his first state visit as King.

William and Kate were part of events for the first time, travelling to a luxury hotel in central London to meet Cyril Ramaphosa and accompany him to Horse Guards Parade for the start of the ceremonial welcome.

There, the monarch and Queen Consort shook hands with the president at the Royal Pavilion ahead of a glamorous state banquet at the Palace tonight.

The South African national anthem played shortly after Mr Ramaphosa’s arrival, while the Guard of Honour gave a Royal Salute.

National figures had gathered in the royal pavilion for the pomp and pageantry of the ceremonial welcome with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined by senior members of the Cabinet, as well as the Lord Mayor of London, Nicholas Lyons, and the Defence Chiefs of Staff.

More than 1,000 soldiers and over 230 horses took part in the ceremonial event and waiting on the parade ground were two immaculate lines of Foot Guards from Number 7 Company The Coldstream Guards.

Nearby in their gleaming breast plates and plumed helmets were the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment – Life Guards and Blues and Royals, commanded by Major Robert Perera of the Blues and Royals.

Mr Ramaphosa then joined Charles and Camilla as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales for a carriage procession along The Mall. 

Upon reaching the Palace, they were met by a second Guard of Honour found by 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, while at the Tower of London, a 62-round gun salute was fired by the Honourable Artillery Company regiment to mark the President’s visit.

Following a private lunch at the Palace, the King invited Mr Ramaphosa to view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to South Africa.

The President then visited Westminster Abbey, where he will laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, and took a tour, which included the memorial stone for Nelson Mandela, the South African President between 1994 and 1999.

After that, Mr Ramaphosa went to the Palace of Westminster, where he was welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker, before delivering an address in the Royal Gallery to MPs and other guests.

After the private lunch at Buckingham Palace, in which they were joined by other members of the Royal Family, including the the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke of Gloucester.

The seemingly very jovial party was treated to a small exhibition of South African artefacts from the Royal Collection in the Picture Gallery.

It included a bowl given to the late Duke of Edinburgh to mark his attendance of Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as president in 1994 and a letter written by the Queen to welcome South Africa back into the Commonwealth after 33 years.

There was also a stunning chess set given to the duke by President Mandela when he visited London in 1996, the first by a South African head of state.

It features two tribes – the Zulus and the Ndebele – in place of the traditional black and white pieces.

‘This is rather wonderful,’ the King told the president proudly.

A photograph of the then Prince of Wales with President Mandela and the Spice Girls in South Africa in 1997 also caught the President’s eye. ‘Ah, there you are,’ he said with evident delight.

When Mr Ramaphosa picked up a photograph of the Queen with former president Mr Mandela during a 1996 Buckingham Palace state banquet, he said: ‘This lovely picture,’ and agreed when the King replied: ‘You were lucky to have known both.’ 

Many of the visiting delegation seemed particularly pleased to see pictures of the late Queen dotted around the exhibition. ‘I was there for that!’ exclaimed the South African foreign minister.

The late Queen had a particular affinity for the country after choosing it as the venue for her keynote 21st birthday speech in which she famously devoted her life to the service of others.  

Former President Donald Trump’s state visit in 2019 was the most recent by a world leader but his welcome was staged in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, so the official visit by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in 2019 was the last time a full ceremonial welcome was staged on Horse Guards Parade.

Lieutenant Colonel James Shaw, Brigade Major of Headquarters Household Division, who delivered the military ceremonial spectacle, said: ‘The state visit is a historic first: our first state visit for His Majesty the King and the President of South Africa, the first state visit in London since 2019, the first processional state visit on Horse Guards since 2018, and the first for almost everyone on parade.’

He added: ‘A huge amount of work has gone into preparing for the visit and we are very proud to support such an important national occasion.’

Climate change, trade and Charles’s vision for the Commonwealth are expected to be on the agenda during Mr Ramaphosa’s two-day visit. 

South Africa is the UK’s biggest trading partner on the continent with trade between both countries worth £10.7billion annually.

However, despite the wealth of pomp and pageantry on display, the visit risks being clouded by events in South Africa, where Ramaphosa risks impeachment for allegedly failing to report a major raid at his luxury farmhouse which saw raiders take £3.4million in cash.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today announced the UK and South Africa will join forces to ‘turbocharge infrastructure investment and economic growth together’.

The next phase of the UK-South Africa Infrastructure Partnership is being launched today, supporting South Africa’s economic growth through major infrastructure developments and offering increased access to UK companies to projects worth up to £5.37 billion over the next three years, said Downing Street.

Mr Sunak said: ‘South Africa is already the UK’s biggest trading partner on the continent, and we have ambitious plans to turbocharge infrastructure investment and economic growth together.

‘I look forward to welcoming President Ramaphosa to London this week to discuss how we can deepen the partnership between our two great nations and capitalise on shared opportunities, from trade and tourism and security and defence.’

The two-day state visit will see a series of firsts for the royal family who will take part in events over the coming two days as they host their guest Mr Ramaphosa.

South Africa’s High Commissioner, Jeremiah Nyamane Mamabolo, hailed the importance of the state visit after speaking to the King a few weeks ago when Charles visited an exhibition of South African fashion in London.

Mr Mamabolo, who is expected to be among the state banquet guests, said: ‘The important thing is that the King has focused for his first visit, to be with Africa, South Africa, and the Commonwealth.’

Mr Ramaphosa was Jacob Zuma’s deputy in 2014 and gained the presidency in 2018.

But he is currently fighting for his political life and facing calls to resign as the deeply divided ruling party African National Congress (ANC) is to hold a vote on its leadership in December.

A scandal in which Ramaphosa is accused of concealing a multi-million dollar cash theft has piled pressure on him.

He faces an accusation that he failed to report a heist at his luxury cattle farmhouse in which robbers took $4million (£3.4m) in cash and instead organised for the robbers to be kidnapped and bribed into silence.

The president has acknowledged a burglary but denies kidnapping and bribery, saying he reported the break-in to the police.

A panel appointed by South Africa’s parliament is set to determine whether to impeach him.