British royal family’s consideration for unmarried president

The meeting of the British Queen and the female president who was a daughter of former president in itself drew much attention. President Park Geun-hye started her three-day state visit to the U.K. on Tuesday (U.K. time).

The United Kingdom invites heads of foreign states only twice a year and graciously hosts them according to the traditional royal protocol. For the last 61 years since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, leaders of only 59 countries were invited as a state guest, among which only 25 countries received the honor more than twice. Most of such countries were neighboring European countries, Commonwealth member states or oil producing countries. Even for the U.S., the closest ally of the U.K., only former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama were invited as a state guest.

President Park has been invited as a state guest for the second time as a Korean president since former President Roh Moo-hyun who paid a state visit to the U.K. 9 years ago. Reportedly, U.K. Ambassador to Korea Scott Wightman sent a state visit invitation to the then-president-elect Park Geun-hye on behalf of the Royal Family right after her victory in the election. Korea’s elevated standing in the international community and the significance of being the first female president of Korea must have played a role.

○ Carriage procession with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

On 11:40 a.m., Tuesday (U.K. Time), Prince Andrew, the Duke of York (the second son of the Queen), visited the Hilton Hotel where President Park was staying. They had some conversation in the living room and started off to the Horse Guards Parade together. During former President Roh’s visit, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, came to welcome the president. This visit is the beginning of British protocol for state guests.

In the Horse Guards Parade, Prime Minister David Cameron, Foreign Secretary William Hague, Home Secretary Theresa May, London Mayor Roger Gifford, the three Chiefs of Staff, the commander of Queen’s Guard as well as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were waiting for the president.

President Park who came on the stage in the center along with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, inspected the Queen’s guards of about 100 and exchanged greetings with the British entourage. While the anthem of Korea was played by the military band, a salute of 41 guns was fired in the Green Park and the London Tower located at the center of London.

After the Guard inspection, royal carriages entered and the president boarded the first gold carriage drawn by six white horses with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Nine years ago, then-president Roh got in the first carriage with the Queen and then-first lady Kwon Yang-sook in the second one with the Duke of Edinburgh. But this time, for the unmarried president, the Queen and the Duke took the same carriage with her. 10 members of the president’s entourage also took following carriages drawn by black horses.

The highlight of the welcoming event was the 1.6-kilometer carriage procession from the Horse Guards Parade to the Buckingham Palace. The procession started at the Horse Guards Parade went by The Mall and the southern part of Queen’s Gardens, passed through the central gate of the Buckingham Palace, and then reached the entrance to the venue where a luncheon hosted by the Queen takes place in 10 minutes.

○ First monument for Korean War veterans in U.K.

The United Kingdom dispatched 56,000 troops to the Korean War and about 1,000 of them lost their lives during the war. Nevertheless, only the U. K. among the 16 countries who sent troops to the war doesn’t have a monument to honor the war veterans.

In this regard, President Park said at the meeting with the Duke of Gloucester who visited in Korea in July, “It is regrettable that among the 16 countries who sent troops for the Korean War, only U.K. doesn’t have a monument for the Korean War veterans. The Korean government is working with the British Korean War Veterans Association to build a monument, through which the sacrifice of war veterans will be remembered in the U.K.”

On Tuesday (U.K. Time), the president also participated in the monument’s groundbreaking ceremony on site located next to the British Defense Ministry. The Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Cambridge (Prince William) who attracted a lot of media attention due to his “marriage of the century” to Kate Middleton and the birth of their “royal baby” in July also joined the ceremony. After having conversation with war veterans, the president laid a wreath and paid her respects on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Westminster Abbey.