LONDON — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday met with King Charles III in the Buckingham Palace as the two leaders joined other high-ranking guests in a dinner reception a day before the monarch’s coronation.

A picture from the British government showed Marcos Jr. shaking the hand of the United Kingdom’s new king, while another photo showed the King, the Philippine President and First Lady Liza Marcos smiling during their banter.

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The Buckingham Palace Reception was held for the Heads of State and other visiting dignitaries who were among the 2,200 guests invited to King Charles’ coronation.

Marcos Jr. earlier said he decided to attend the coronation as Britain’s King as their family personally knew the monarch for years.

Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teddy Locsin Jr. earlier said the King Charles and Marcos Jr. used to play polo before the monarch rose to power last year after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.

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Marcos Jr. was first introduced to the royal family as a young boy in 1970, when his mother took him to pay a courtesy call on Queen Elizabeth.

The Marcos scion spent his youth living in the UK as he attended the Worth Prep School and Oxford University.

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