King Charles was in high spirits as he welcomed Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan at a State Banquet inside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening.

The warmth between the monarch and his counterpart was clear with Charles using his speech to recall shared memories, including trips to the opera and fly fishing together as younger men. “I am only sorry to report that I haven’t had any better luck with more recent attempts at fishing,” he said.

“The Pokémon phrase ‘gotta catch ’em all’ may resonate with my grandchildren, but for me it is, perhaps, aspirational,” he added. His touching reference to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis went down a storm with guests, including proud dad Prince William who joined in the laughter around the table.

Other royals who attended the banquet included the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. The guests dined on a lavish three-course menu, which included langoustines (Norway lobsters), turbot, and peach sorbet, according to Buckingham Palace. They were entertained by the Royal College of Music’s Senior Quartet, Seion Quartet.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan are the first royals to pay a state visit to Britain following Charles’s cancer diagnosis. Speaking ahead of the trip, the Emperor reflected on his time in the UK in the 1980s and his many informal meetings with Charles and his late parents.

“I have very fond memories of the Queen driving a car and inviting me to a barbecue and Prince Philip showing me around by driving a carriage himself,” he said. Naruhito – who, like his wife, studied at Oxford – also revealed that King Charles, then Prince of Wales, taught him fly fishing but admitted “neither of us had success”. The Emperor added: “I was welcomed with warmth as if I were their family member.”

Given his close connection with the British royals, Naruhito has requested a visit to the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II during his stay. The late Queen was laid to rest at St George’s Chapel in Windsor following her death in September 2022 and the Emperor has said he wishes to lay his own wreath there.

The Emperor and Empress will undertake a number of other engagements including a visit to The Francis Crick Institute, the UK’s flagship biomedical research centre and a Banquet at the Guildhall ahead of the formal farewells at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.