On November 6, 2016, King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque as part of a short sightseeing tour of the UAE.
The current British monarch was then the Prince of Wales, while Queen Camilla was the Duchess of Cornwall. The royal visit to the UAE was part of a three-nation tour in the region, and the eighth time Charles visited since 1989.
A trip to the mosque was one of the first stops. The royal couple had previously seen the landmark in 2007 while it was still under construction, but hadn’t yet witnessed it in its completed form.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who served as Minister of State for Tolerance at the time, hosted the couple on a tour of the mosque. The visit was aimed to be a celebration of the UAE’s work to promote religious tolerance. During the tour, King Charles spoke with Bishop Paul Hinder of St Joseph’s Cathedral, one of two Roman Catholic churches in Abu Dhabi.
“For me, the visit is for recognition,” Bishop Paul told The National in 2016. “The prince was able to speak to us and see the mutual tolerance, which is a reality in this country. It doesn’t happen all over the world that we can meet in such a place in such a formation. Living and seeing this reality has an impact.”
The couple toured the main hall, where they learnt more about the structure’s architecture, design and carpet. They also visited a photography exhibition. A reception was then organised where the future king and queen met guests from different faiths and nationalities.
With more than 200 nationalities living in the UAE, a large majority of whom are Commonwealth citizens from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the royals were keen to sample a brief snapshot of diversity in the capital.
After their visit to the mosque, the couple visited the Bu Tinah archipelago, a sanctuary for endangered species such as the dugong and hawksbill turtle, and a UN-recognised heritage site located about 150km from Abu Dhabi. They also attended a celebration at Jahili Fort in Al Ain and a Youth Circle event in Masdar City.
He has since visited as king, attending Cop28 UAE last year.
