Kenya And Britain's Monarchy: From Safaris To An Accession

London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Oct, 2023) King Charles III's upcoming visit to Kenya is the latest in a long line by British royals over the decades.

Britain's monarchy has forged strong links with the East African former colony, following frequent public and private trips by family members -- some of them history-making.

- 'Next day a queen' -

Queen Elizabeth II learned of the death of her father, King George VI, and her own accession to the throne on February 6, 1952, while on a private trip to Kenya with her husband Prince Philip.

She was just 25-years-old.

The world's media were already reporting the news, which took some time to reach the young monarch who was staying at the Treetops Hotel, a remote game-watching lodge in the Aberdare forest.

Jim Corbett, the naturalist and hunter who accompanied the royal couple there, is credited with writing a famous entry in its visitor book.

"For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and, after having what she described as her most thrilling experience, she climbed down from the tree next day a queen," he penned.

After becoming sovereign, Elizabeth II made three further visits to Kenya, including a state visit in 1983.

- Royal engagement -

Decades later, her grandson Prince William proposed to then-girlfriend Kate Middleton while on a Kenyan holiday, in October 2010.

The future king popped the question at the remote Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in central Kenya, a privately owned game reserve run as a non-profit and famous for saving endangered black rhinos.

Some 225 kilometres (140 miles) north of the capital Nairobi, it has made headlines for its work with the rhinos, threatened by poachers, and allows visitors to track lions and view big cats, elephants and other animals.

William, now the Prince of Wales, presented Kate with a diamond-set sapphire engagement ring that had belonged to his late mother, Princess Diana.

The couple's wedding the following year was a display of British pageantry as a million people lined the streets and two billion viewers worldwide watched Kate walk up the aisle.

- Safaris -

Kenya has been a favourite destination for members of the royal family on private safaris since the early 20th century.

In 1971 Charles, then Prince of Wales, and his sister Princess Anne visited a Maasai reserve during a trip to the country.

The country has also played host to numerous other royals and their entourage.

The keen hunter Prince Henry, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary, met the aviatrix Beryl Markham, while in Kenya in 1928.

The couple began a romantic relationship, even though she was married, causing a scandal in London society at the time.

Prince Edward, the future Edward VIII, was also a great safari fan, particularly in the company of the aristocrat and hunter-adventurer Denys Finch Hatton.

Finch Hatton was best known as the lover of the author Karen Blixen, who wrote the best-selling memoir "Out of Africa", which was later adapted into a film.

Finch-Hatton is said to have heightened the future king's awareness of the need to protect wildlife, a battle subsequently pursued by a succession of British royals.