Many notable Africans, including Ghana’s President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo and the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, attended the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
The presence of the two personalities further enhanced the long-standing relations between Ghana and Britain, consolidating the cordial relationship between the two countries.
In the context of the Commonwealth agenda, the coronation of King Charles also marked a new beginning in the relationship between Britain and its former colony.
“My beautiful Rebecca and I, together with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and his wife, Lady Julia, attended this morning’s coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey, in London.” President Nana Akufo-Addo wrote on his Facebook page.
Ghana was the first black African nation south of the Sahara to gain political independence from British colonial rule in 1957, and this would inspire other nations on the continent to do the same.
Since then, the two nations have maintained a strong partnership, particularly in areas such as political diplomacy, peace and security, education, health, trade and investment, and cultural exchanges, among others.
Prior to his coronation, King Charles had made several trips to Ghana, the most recent in 2018, when he inaugurated the Prince of Wales Park at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
The beautifully decorated park is one of the five-decade-long campaign projects by the King as he champions the cause for a greener world. It is meant to advance the shared ambition for the Commonwealth and maintain closer ties, as environmentalism was the cornerstone of Charles’ public identity as Prince of Wales.
Beginning in the 1970s, he delivered speeches about air pollution, plastic waste, oil spills, and industrial agriculture, and convened meetings with world leaders to discuss these threats.
The King once said: “Forests are the world’s air-conditioning system – the lungs of the planet – and we are on the verge of switching it off.”
In 2021, the United Kingdom (UK) and Ghana signed an agreement, marking an important moment for boosting trade worth £1.2 billion.
The expectation is that with tariff-free access for Ghana to the UK, it will enable businesses to scale up their operations, support innovation in markets, and create jobs.