BBC News:
King Charles has spoken of the strong friendship between the late Queen Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela, as the King hosted a state visit by South Africa’s current president.
At a banquet in Buckingham Palace, the King welcomed Cyril Ramaphosa and hailed the cultural and trading links between the UK and South Africa.
But the King also acknowledged the difficult legacy of colonialism.
He said there were “elements of that history which provoke profound sorrow”.
“We must acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past if we are to unlock the power of our common future,” said the King.
Hosting the first state visit of his reign, King Charles spoke warmly of previous meetings between the Royal Family and South Africa’s former president Mandela, who he praised for helping to move his country towards democracy.
The King called for future partnerships which would help to tackle the “existential threats of climate change and biodiversity loss”.
He had introduced his speech by saying “welcome” in six different languages used in South Africa.
In response, Mr Ramaphosa remembered the fondness of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Mr Mandela, who died in 2013, and how they had corresponded over many years.
The banquet, with toasts and speeches, is a traditional high point of a state visit, with more than 160 guests in the ornate surroundings of the Buckingham Palace ballroom.
The guests, each place setting with six different glasses and using a 4,000-piece dinner service dating back to George IV, had a starter of brill and a main course of pheasant.
The top of the table, alongside the King and the South African visitors, included the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Princess of Wales was wearing a bracelet that had belonged to Queen Elizabeth and earrings that had belonged to Diana, a previous Princess of Wales.
For her first state visit as Queen Consort, Camilla wore a sapphire and diamond tiara that had belonged to the late monarch.
