Inside Charles and Camilla’s state dinner: King and Queen enjoyed lobster ravioli and salmon with champagne as part of an eight-course feast in Nairobi

The King and Queen arrived in a flash of light bulbs this evening for a glittering state banquet, concluding the first day of their Kenyan state visit.

Queen Camilla looked elegant in a blue tunic top and palazzo-style trousers from one of her favorite designers, Anna Valentine.

She also wore a diamond elephant bracelet and necklace from her adored grandmother, designed by Van Cleef & Arpels.

The king, who wore a lounge suit because the dress code was not black tie, posed for photos with his wife and their hosts, President William Ruth of Kenya and First Lady, Rachel Ruto.

They stood with the beautiful backdrop of State House behind them, lit up for the occasion, and then walked down a red carpet to the sounds of a traditional Ma dance troupe from Narok, who greeted them with a ceremonial celebratory dance.

Among the guests were Foreign Secretary James Cleverley and his wife.

It comes as the king told the Kenyan people of his “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” over Britain’s “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” during the colonial era.

In a keynote speech that went far further than many expected, amid calls for an apology for government abuses under his late mother’s rule, King Charles said there was “no excuse” for British “misbehavior” in the East African country, especially against the Mau Mau. revolt.

At a state banquet in Nairobi, he told the Kenyan president and 350 guests: “It is the intimacy of our shared history that has brought our people together. However, we must also acknowledge the most painful times of our long and complex relationship.

‘The misdeeds of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and deepest regret. “There have been abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence against Kenyans while, as you said at the United Nations, they were waging a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty – and there can be no excuse for that.”

Charles continued: “When I return to Kenya, it is vital for me to deepen my own understanding of these abuses, and to meet some of the people whose lives and communities have been so deeply affected.

“None of this can change the past. But by approaching our history honestly and openly, perhaps we can demonstrate the strength of our friendship today. And as a result, I hope, we can continue to build an increasingly closer bond in the coming years.’

The king stopped short of an immediate apology, which carries greater legal liability because it is not the policy of the British government to do so.

Queen Camilla looked elegant in a blue tunic top and palazzo-style trousers from one of her favorite designers, Anna Valentine

His words came as President Ruto delivered an even stronger speech – hinting at further demands for reparations.

He said Britain and Kenya cannot “live in denial of history” and highlighted the “displacement, dispossession and disenfranchisement of indigenous Africans, paving the way for brutal colonialism.”

The president described British efforts to crush the Kenyan people’s struggle for independence as “monstrous in their brutality” and made it clear that he would not accept the £20 million Britain has paid so far in compensation for victims of torture and repression was deemed inadequate.

“While efforts have been made to atone for the death, injury and suffering inflicted on Kenyan Africans by the colonial government, much remains to be done to achieve full reparations,” he said.

But he praised the king for his “visionary leadership” on the issue, saying: “Your exemplary courage and willingness to shed light on uncomfortable truths that lurk in the dark reaches of our shared experience are… commendable.”

King Charles has expressed his “deepest sadness and deepest regret” over the atrocities suffered by Kenyans during their struggle for independence from British colonial rule in a speech at a banquet during his state visit to Kenya.

But he stopped short of offering a full apology that survivors of the period and local rights groups pushing for reparations from the British government had demanded.

“This is a very encouraging first step, under your leadership, to make progress beyond the cautious and ambiguous half-measures of recent years.

“We are therefore confident that, under your visionary leadership, relations between Kenya and the United Kingdom will continue to flourish for the benefit of our two countries and peoples. ‘

The king endeared himself to his audience by using various Swahili expressions and his pronunciation was described as ‘impeccable’.

He emphasized the “special significance” Kenya has for his family, not least his late mother, not least because that was where she discovered she was queen.

But he also sweetly mentioned the Prince and Princess of Wales, saying: ‘It was here, within sight of Mount Kenya, that my son, the Prince of Wales, proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law.’

Charles speaks with Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto at the state banquet

He concluded on a positive note, saying in Swahili: ‘Umoja ninguvu’, Unity is strength.

Mwangi Macharia, head of the African Center for Corrective and Preventive Action, a human rights group, said Britain should follow the example of Germany, which has apologized for its abuses in Namibia and agreed to projects worth more than a billion euros to finance.

Nandi King Koitalel Arap Samoei led a decade-long rebellion until he was assassinated by a British colonel in 1905. Over the next few years, the British confiscated most of his people’s land and livestock.

Samoei’s great-grandson Kipchoge araap Chomu has credited the British with contributions to Kenya such as education and public health systems, but said historical injustices must be remedied.

“We must demand a public apology from the British government,” he told Reuters. ‘After an apology, we also expect compensation.’