Prince Charles welcomed an important foreign guest in London on behalf of his mother, the Queen, in a closed-door meeting at his official residence in Clarence House Thursday. Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is visiting the U.K. as part of his tour of Europe to entice investors and renew alliances.
According to Daily Express, Prince Charles and Al-Kadhimi stood a few meters next to each other and observed social distancing while they had a photo op. Both dignitaries were in high spirits when they greeted each other before the press was ushered out of the room.
Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, was also with Prince Charles and Al-Kadhimi. Hussein was all smiles as well as the royal pointed in his direction. It looked like a meeting of old friends who haven't seen each other in person for a long time.
Al-Kadhimi, who is a British citizen, was appointed to his post in May. He left Iraq in the 1980s and lived in Germany before building his life anew in the U.K., per Arab News.
On his return to London, Al-Kadhimi stressed on Britain's renewed commitment in the U.S.-led coalition to help Iraqi forces against the militant group, Daesh. The Iraqi official also had a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Downing Street after his visit to Prince Charles.
This was not the first time Prince Charles stepped in for Queen Elizabeth to meet high government officials from other countries amid the pandemic. In June, the Prince of Wales and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, also welcomed President Emmanuel Macron of France for the anniversary of Appel.
Since late September, Queen Elizabeth has chosen to stay in Windsor Castle and limit her in-person royal engagements until the rest of 2020 due to the threats of the virus. However, the monarch went out of her coronavirus bubble for the first time to visit the COVID-19 research team at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory with Prince William.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles has been taking on more in-person duties for the crown, after a short summer break. A few weeks ago, the Prince of Wales was on a trip to Northern Ireland with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
The royal pair had a series of engagements with healthcare workers, food distributors and some essential workers to learn about how the locals are coping amid the health crisis. Prince Charles and Camilla also met with government officials in their Northern Ireland trip.
