Marcos returns home after weeklong US, UK trips
Published on: Tuesday, May 09, 2023
By: ABS CBN News
MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (pic) returned to the country on Sunday from his brief trip to the United Kingdom for the coronation of King Charles III and his official visit to the United States where he met with US President Joe Biden.“It feels good to be back home!” First Lady Liza Marcos, who travelled with the President, said in an instagram post on Monday, showing a photo of her husband timestamped 11:05 pm of May 7, 2023.
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A Palace official also confirmed to ABS-CBN News that the President had returned to the Philippines “late evening” on Sunday, with no arrival honours held.
A few hours after his arrival, Marcos congratulated King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their coronation over the weekend in London.
“It was as grand and magnificent a ceremony as could have been, full of symbolism and weighted by history. It was a great honour for me to represent the Philippines on such a historic occasion,” he said in a statement.
“A day before the Coronation of King Charles III, we were able to speak with His Majesty at the reception, where we sent him the congratulations of all Filipinos. He asked after his friend, my mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, and recounted fond memories of the time they shared together,” Marcos added.
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“Filipinos wish His Majesty King Charles III a long and happy reign. May his Coronation signify the start of a new chapter of peace, progress, and prosperity for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth,” he also said.
Marcos was among the 2,200 guests invited to King Charles’ coronation.
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Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teddy Locsin Jr. earlier said King Charles and Marcos used to play polo before the monarch acceded to the British throne last year after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Marcos will leave for Indonesia on May 9 to the attend the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The regional meeting is expected to tackle the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, among others.
Marcos left the Philippines last April 30 for a five-day official visit to Washington, DC, during which he also met with US Vice President Kamala Harris, other US officials and some business leaders, aside from Biden.
The visit marked the first time in more than a decade that a Philippine president set foot on the American capital, and was seen as an attempt to rekindle US-Philippines relations strained during the administration of Marcos’ predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Marcos then headed to London to witness the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, the first time a UK monarch was officially crowned in more than 70 years.
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