President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will pay a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom in March 2026, in what officials on both sides are casting as a landmark moment in relations between Abuja and London.

The visit, scheduled for March 18 to 19, follows a formal invitation from King Charles III and will be hosted at Windsor Castle. Tinubu will be accompanied by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, according to an announcement released on the official channels of the British royal household.

The statement said the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty the King to pay a state visit to the United Kingdom, with the King and Queen Camilla acting as hosts.

In Abuja, presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga underscored the diplomatic weight of the trip, noting that it will be the first state visit by a Nigerian leader to the UK in nearly four decades. The last such occasion was in 1989, when then military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida was received by the late Queen Elizabeth II for a four-day state visit.

That earlier era of high-level royal diplomacy also saw General Yakubu Gowon and President Shehu Shagari hosted in London, with Queen Elizabeth II later being decorated with Nigeria’s highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, during Babangida’s visit.

State visits to the UK are rare and highly choreographed events, described by the BBC and other observers as a key instrument of soft-power diplomacy. They typically feature ceremonial welcomes, carriage processions, state banquets and intensive political and economic discussions aimed at deepening strategic ties.

Tinubu’s forthcoming visit builds on a series of recent personal engagements with King Charles. The two men, who both assumed their current offices in 2023, met in Dubai on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit, where Tinubu framed the encounter as an opportunity to reset and strengthen bilateral relations. They held another private meeting at Buckingham Palace the following year.

King Charles has long signalled a particular interest in Nigeria. As Prince of Wales, he visited the country four times, most recently in 2018 with Camilla. His charitable vehicle, The King’s Trust International, has since expanded operations in Nigeria, focusing on youth skills and employment, a theme expected to feature prominently when the Nigerian delegation arrives at Windsor.