Today, Saturday, May 6, 2023, Charles III and his wife, Camilla officially get crowned as the King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms. Presidents and government officials from the Commonwealth countries have traveled to the UK to witness the coronation of King Charles III, the head of the Commonwealth.
Founded in 1931, the Commonwealth is a political association of 56 nations the majority of which are former colonies of the British Empire.
And since Nigeria is one of the member states, President Muhammadu Buhari and a number of his cabinet members are also attending King Charles’ coronation ceremony.
King Charles III is one of the members of the royal family in the UK that seems to have a strong relationship with Nigeria.
Before his enthronement as the King of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth, Charles had visited Nigeria four times.
His first visit to Nigeria was in 1990, during the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida. Nine years later, he visited again for the inauguration ceremony of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the second democratically elected president of the country.
In 2006, he returned to Nigeria for a three-day state visit during which he visited Kaduna and Kano states.
But Charles’ visit in 2018 can be said to be the most memorable. It was a few days before his 70th birthday and one of the major highlights of the visit was the fact that he tried out some expressions in Pidgin English while addressing Nigerians.
“It is particularly special to be here just a few days before my 70th birthday in the land of the Owambe. I must say I find it hard to believe that nearly 30 years have passed since I first came to this city, and having finally made it back here ladies and gentlemen, all I can say is God don better my bread.
“I’ve also been struck today by the essential role Lagos played today within the commonwealth as the commonwealth’s seventh most popular city and is the most popular outside India’s sub-continent… As they say out here, “If life dey shows you pepper my guy, make pepper soup”, he said.
Indeed, God dons butter Charles’ bread. He became the King of the United Kingdom at 74, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022.
