During his upcoming tour to the Middle East Prince Charles will visit a friend of his mother's. While in Oman with the Duchess of Cornwall, Charles will meet with the Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, who is a personal friend of the Queen. The Prince of Wales and Camilla are travelling to the Middle East next month as part of a mission to promote British interests in the region. First the couple will journey 2258 miles to Jordan before heading to Qatar and Oman where they can expect to receive a wonderful reception from Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said.
The eight-day tour will see the Queen's eldest and his wife work to improve the UK relations with key figures in their host nations. As the duo meet with fellow royals they will also enjoy rekindling old friendships that exist with some of the Middle East's prominent figureheads.Charles will mark his third official visit to Jordan by meeting with King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania whom he last saw in May at a dinner to commemorate to Diamond Jubilee. The royals will discuss The Amman Message, a statement issued in 2004 calling for tolerance in the Muslim world.
The couple will then travel to Qatar, the only country on the tour they have previously visited together, where a conference with the Qatari royal family and senior officials will focus on how the country is managing challenges to food security and British technology enterprises.During their stay Charles and Camilla will also attend a major event celebrating that 2013 is 'UK-Qatar Year of Culture'.The final leg of the tour is Oman where the couple will meet with Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said. In 2010, when the Queen's last visited Oman, the Sultan rearranged the 40th anniversary celebrations of his reign, which were originally planned for July, so they took place during her majesty's visit. Such is the regard for the British monarchy in Oman that Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said laid on three days of extravagant events to the sovereign and Prince Philip, a reception which may be echoed for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
A statement from Clarence House said the visit as a whole will "aim to support UK economic interests by highlighting the growing commercial links between British companies and their counterparts in Jordan, Qatar and Oman, and by encouraging the development of an enterprise culture in the private sector in each country. "Other general themes of the tour include discussing opportunities for women in society, military collaboration, inter-faith relations, education and environmental sustainability which will examined through Charles and Camilla's engagements both individually and as a couple.
The royal couple will jet off from the UK by chartered plane on March 11 and return on March 19.