A guest of the royals

Why Empress Masako wore a mask in the carriage

(Bild: APA/Jonathan Brady, Pool Photo via AP)

King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla welcomed the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife to the UK for their state visit with a military ceremony on Tuesday. But Empress Masako surprised them with an unusual accessory.

The monarchs greeted each other in London on Tuesday at Horse Guards Parade. A tent roof protected the heads of state from the hot sun.

Masako with mask
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and senior members of the government also took part in the event. Earlier, heir to the throne Prince William had picked up the imperial couple at their hotel on behalf of his father.

Queen Camilla and King Charles received Empress Masako and Emperor Naruhito in London.

(Bild: APA/Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)

Prince William met the imperial couple at the hotel and later posed for photos with Empress Masako and Queen Camilla.

(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/Chris Jackson)

After the ceremony, the couple traveled the short distance to Buckingham Palace in carriages. While Charles and Naruhito shared a carriage, Masako and Camilla followed in a second carriage. The Japanese empress was particularly eye-catching: she not only wore an outfit in white - just like Camilla - but also a mask over her mouth and nose.

What was the accessory all about? As the Daily Mail reported, Masako has long suffered from an allergy to horse hair. She therefore wore the mask not out of fear of contracting Covid-19, but as protection from the noble horses that had been harnessed to the carriage. 

The mask was intended to protect Empress Masako against her horsehair allergy.

(Bild: APA/Isabel Infantes/Pool photo via AP)

King Charles then guided the Emperor through a special exhibition of Japan-related exhibits in the Picture Gallery. In the afternoon, Naruhito and Masako visited Westminster Abbey before arriving at Buckingham Palace for a state banquet in the evening.

Empress wore a sparkling tiara
And Masako once again provided a surprise. The Empress wore the "Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara" for the very first time. This is considered a masterpiece of the jeweler's art: the diamonds in the precious tiara are arranged in the shape of chrysanthemums, as the name suggests.

Empress Masako surprised everyone with a glittering tiara on her head.

(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Anne not present after accident
Meanwhile, Charles' sister Princess Anne was unable to attend the reception. She is still being monitored in a clinic following an incident with a horse at her private country estate. On Tuesday, her husband Tim Laurence visited her in hospital for lunch. The 73-year-old has no memory of the incident on Sunday, in which she suffered minor injuries and a concussion, British media reported.

The timing of the visit is surprising: a new parliament will be elected in the UK on July 4. During the 70-year reign of Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth II, no state visits took place during election campaigns. The British news agency PA quoted an official from the Japanese Foreign Ministry as saying that it was not a political visit.

Several private appointments
The three-day state visit ends on Thursday. At the end of the visit, the Emperor will lay a wreath at Queen Elizabeth II's grave at Windsor Castle.

The imperial couple had already landed in the British capital on Saturday and had made several private appointments since then. After completing their official visit, the Emperor and Empress plan to visit their former colleges at Oxford University before leaving on Friday.