Image: Queen Elizabeth and the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at last year's Royal Windsor Horse Show. Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Images, all rights reserved.
“I believe that the links and knowledge, the experience and the friendships that have been built up over the last hundred years still stand us in good stead today, and will do in the future.” These were the warm words of Queen Elizabeth when she hosted a banquet to welcome King Abudllah of Saudi Arabia in 2007. At the time of the visit the Saudi authorities had been accused of widespread torture, abuses and executions.
11 years later she provided an equally warm greeting for Mohammad Bin Salman, the current Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. During a three day visit to London this March he received the reddest of red carpet visits: enjoying lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, photos on the steps of Downing Street and dinner with Prince William and Prince Charles at Clarence House. Amidst the mutually fawning photographs, the Crown Prince’s visit was widely protested due to his central role in the ongoing destruction of Yemen.
