Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq arrived in Britain this week for a four-day state visit, drawing attention not only for the diplomatic weight of his meetings but for a wardrobe that shifted with each occasion, from airport arrival to royal banquet to Downing Street.
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Landing at Stansted airport on Monday, the Sultan stepped off the plane in a simple blue tunic suit and a grey Astrakhan hat, understated and businesslike. By Tuesday evening, he had transformed for the state banquet at Windsor Castle, appearing in a black velvet bisht with heavily embroidered golden borders, paired with a striped purple and blue cashmere turban, closely mirroring the ceremonial dress worn by his predecessor, the late Sultan Qaboos, during his own UK state visit in 1982.
For his formal welcome at Windsor Castle earlier that day, he wore a grey worsted wool abaya with ornate golden embroidery, a grey tailored tunic and matching trousers, and a white turban.
The state banquet, hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, featured Scottish langoustine, Cornish crab, pot-roasted Windsor pheasant and baked Alaska. King Charles praised Oman’s role in efforts to keep shipping lanes open through the Strait of Hormuz, blockaded by Iran since March, calling them “noble efforts in trying to keep open one of the world’s most important shipping routes.”
Wednesday’s agenda included Sultan Haitham’s third visit to Downing Street in three years, where Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed talks on trade, investment and Oman’s planned growth hub at Al Batinah, a project partly inspired by a development initiative Burnham led as Mayor of Manchester.
The Sultan’s Savile Row tailor, Dege and Skinner, holds a royal warrant from the Omani rulers dating back to the 1970s, a detail that quietly underscores how deep the bilateral relationship runs beneath the ceremony.
Source: The National
