The sovereign is the reigning monarch — in the United Kingdom, King Charles — in whose name state visits are hosted and to whom members of the royal family traditionally bow or curtsy. At the October 2026 state visit of the Sultan of Oman, the sovereign received his guest at Windsor Castle, rode with him in the Irish State Coach, and presided over the state banquet in St George’s Hall.
(Number 10 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0))
Mentioned in: Why a Curtsy Still Matters: The History and Meaning Behind Royal Protocol at State Visits