King Abdullah met Starmer at Downing Street on Wednesday to discuss Middle East crises Meeting with Charles III marked the Jordanian monarch’s silver jubilee — 25 years since ascending to the throne LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan returned home on Friday following a working visit to the UK. The visit this week featured key engagements with King Charles III and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Earlier in the visit, King Abdullah met Starmer at Downing Street on Wednesday, where discussions reinforced the close ties between the two kingdoms, Jordan News Agency reported. They also called for an immediate ceasefire and stronger efforts for de-escalation and humanitarian aid in Gaza. They warned that Israel’s ban on UNRWA activities could worsen the humanitarian crisis and highlighted the need to address violence in the West Bank. The King emphasized the UK’s crucial role in seeking resolutions to regional conflicts and achieving a just, comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution, JNA added. King Abdullah then met Charles at Windsor Castle on Thursday. The occasion marked the Jordanian monarch’s silver jubilee — 25 years since ascending to the throne — and King Charles commemorated the milestone by presenting King Abdullah with a specially engraved silver beaker, featuring the ciphers of the king and queen. The formal welcome at Windsor began with the Jordanian monarch receiving a royal salute, accompanied by the Jordanian national anthem. Major Edward Emlyn-Williams, the captain of the guard, invited King Abdullah, in Arabic, to inspect the guard, followed by a military march-past. The two kings exchanged conversation as they interacted with the guards before proceeding into the castle for tea. The long-standing relationship between the two monarchs was highlighted by King Charles’s five visits to Jordan as Prince of Wales, most recently in 2021. King Abdullah’s last visit to Charles took place at Buckingham Palace in November 2022. King Abdullah’s visit comes months after his son and heir, Crown Prince Hussein, and Crown Princess Rajwa welcomed their daughter, Princess Iman, in August. Britain’s Prince and Princess of Wales attended the wedding of Hussein and Rajwa in June last year.