Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 5) — After his official visit to the United States, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will head to the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.
He will also have a \”very casual and informal\” meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
\”Sabi ko naman, palagay ko, magkakilala kami ay dapat naman,\” Marcos told reporters on Friday morning (Manila time) referring to Charles, while sharing his post-visit report from his trip to the United States.
\”Napakalaking bagay na siya ay kokoronahan bilang hari ng United Kingdom, eh, dapat maka-attend na ako,\” he added.
[Translation: I thought that since we know each other, I should be there. It’s a big thing that he will be crowned as the King of the United Kingdom, I should attend.\”
CNN Philippines was the first to report on Jan. 26 that the chief executive will be invited to the coronation as he had already received a “save the date” notice.
Malacañang confirmed on April 3 that Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos have accepted the invitation and will also be going to a reception at Buckingham Palace before the coronation.
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, with the ceremony to be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
READ: A visual guide to King Charles III’s coronation
His coronation comes nearly seven decades after he instantly became King as his mother Queen Elizabeth II died in September last year.
Marcos sent her sister Irene Marcos-Araneta to represent him at the state funeral since the president was in the US for the United Nations General Assembly.
Other agenda
For his 11th foreign trip since he took office last year, Marcos will land at the London Gatwick Airport, one of UK’s major international airports, to check its operations — alluding to the recent mess at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
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\”Pupuntahan ko ‘yong Gatwick dahil titingnan ko ‘yong operation ng kanilang airport, kung bagay ba ito — ‘yong mga lessons learned nila, ‘yong mga ginagawa nila — kung best practices ‘yan na pwede nating dalhin sa Pilipinas,\” Marcos said.
[Translation: I will go to Gatwick because I will look at the operation of the airport, if what they do — their lessons learned and operations — fit with us, if those are best practices are what we can bring to the Philippines.]
Meanwhile, Marcos said he will also be meeting with UK Prime Minister Sunak to discuss if there are \”any changes to his thinking\” on the bilateral relations, including trade relations, between Manila and London.
\”I’m sure babanggitin din kung pwede makakuha ng health workers mula sa Pilipinas [he will mention if the UK could get more health workers from the Philippines],\” he added.
But it will only occur on the sidelines of the coronation as the Philippine leader sees little time to set up their talk. He said he will fly home to Manila after the ceremony.
\”May mga proposal na makikipag-usap ako, siyempre sa Prime Minister Sunak, pero habang siguro nag-aantay do’n sa actual na seremonya ng pagka-coronation kay King Charles [III],\” he said.
[Translation: There are proposals for me to talk with, of course, Prime Minister Sunak, but those may happen while waiting for the actual ceremony of the coronation of King Charles III.]
\”I cannot see any window of time in the schedule kung saan pwede mag-sit down at mag-usap, exchange of notes, etcetera etcera, so very casual lang to, very informal, pero wag natin mamaliitin ‘yang mga ganyang klaseng meeting,\” he added.
