They might come from distinctly different backgrounds but Queen Elizabeth II and Kuwait's ambassador to the UK share an unrivalled commitment to their jobs.
After 70 years as head of state, the queen is the longest-serving monarch in UK history, while Khaled Al Duwaisan’s 29-year tenure makes him the longest-serving ambassador to the country.
For decades, he and the queen have been fixtures on the diplomatic social scene and at various state and royal occasions, which has given Mr Al Duwaisan an intimate insight into the monarch he says is “charismatic and wonderful”.
“Her majesty is very well-informed, she is aware of what's happening in the world. So that is why most of the diplomats, not only me, love her. She is a loveable person. And she understands everything,” Mr Al Duwaisan tells The National at his residence in London.
Having been appointed the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps by Buckingham Palace in 2003, it appears that the ambassador’s high admiration for the queen is reciprocated.
“When we go to her parties, we feel like we are going to a second home. She is a relaxed person, a welcoming person and has wonderful knowledge and information,” says the veteran diplomat.
“She asks me about Kuwait, about life there and things that are happening. And the royal family here have a good relationship with the ruling family in Kuwait, which makes my job very easy.”
After nearly three decades in his primary post, the ambassador has grown a reputation for his hospitality as well as being one of the most familiar faces at royal occasions.
He remembers vividly the first time he met the sovereign, when he first presented his credentials as incoming ambassador in 1993.
“I took all of the diplomats with me ― who now have all became ambassadors themselves ― and we had a problem because we were wearing the Bisht [traditional men’s cloak] and they can't give their back to her majesty, so I was afraid that if they walked backwards they would probably slip,” he recalls.
After some thought and a lot of practice, the ambassador says he found a way for the men to move around the queen in the traditional dress without breaking protocol.
In the pre-pandemic days, the ambassador used to see the queen “five or six times a year” at various social occasions, receptions and state visits, including two hosted by the late emir of Kuwait in 1995 and 2012.
Though he wasn’t in Kuwait at the time, his eyes shine bright with pride when he remembers the queen’s visit to the country in 1979, the first by a female head of state.
A junior diplomat in Washington at the time, Mr Al Duwaisan was not there to see the monarch being guided around the newly built Kuwait Towers, or watching a display of Bedouin dance close by and spending a day at the races, yet he nevertheless smiles widely remembering that she did all those things.
The UK's longest-serving diplomat
Mr Al Duwaisan joined Kuwait's Foreign Ministry in 1970. Before his posting to London, he served as Kuwait's ambassador to the Netherlands and Romania.
His arrival to the UK capital less than two years after the end of the First Gulf War marked a new and even stronger relationship than had already existed between Britain and Kuwait as a result of the Friendship Agreement in 1899 during the reign of Queen Victoria, “when I presented my credentials!” the ambassador has joked.
The Iraqi invasion of neighbouring Kuwait in 1990 was immediately condemned by coalition forces including America and Britain, who deployed the largest number of troops since the Second World War in defensive action.
Having found himself trapped in his home country during the war while on a visit there from the Netherlands, Mr Al Duwaisan was forced into hiding and remembers tuning into the BBC World Service to keep track of the international response.
“We have huge respect for Margaret Thatcher in Kuwait because she rallied international support to liberate Kuwait in 1991,” he says, recalling the pivotal role of the former UK prime minister in persuading then US President George H W Bush to take action.
Mr Al Duwaisan also credits the queen and her influence for the successful intervention on his country's behalf.
“She has a huge influence over the Middle East. She meets the [British] prime minister every week and she speaks her mind. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, she was very helpful, so was Margaret Thatcher, and they are behind the role of Americans and British and French and others alike to liberate Kuwait. So she has a lot of influence,” says the ambassador.
After the queen, the late Lady Thatcher topped his list of courtesy calls when the Kuwaiti envoy first took up his post nearly three decades ago, developing a close personal friendship with her and an enduring gratitude to both British female icons for their role in supporting Kuwait.
In 1995, Queen Elizabeth appointed him an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
That same year, the monarch welcomed then Emir of Kuwait, the late Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, on a state visit that ended with a return banquet at Claridge’s Hotel for his British Royal Hosts.
Close in age and values, the queen and emir’s warm friendship made for a jovial occasion, says Mr Al Duwaisan who recalls the monarchs being deep in conversation.
“She was a good friend with our late emir, Sheikh Sabah. She hosted him for a state visit and I was with them at the same table. I saw them talk and joke with each other. I don’t know what she said to him but he was laughing a lot,” the ambassador tells The National.
“The queen is always aware of the situation when a president or king visits her. She is so well-informed about the country, about current events about history so that's why emirs and presidents feel at home with her.”
Seventeen years later, the emir was welcomed yet again by the Queen on a three-day visit to Britain in 2012. Prince Charles accompanied Sheikh Sabah to Windsor where he was met by a glittering state procession and a guard of honour.
While both ceremonial state visits were bursting with the pomp and celebration expected of Buckingham Palace, the ambassador recalls the more intimate dinner at Windsor Castle in 1998 as “one of the best meals” he had with the queen.
“When we finished eating she took us to a place where I saw a sword [stretching] from here to the beginning of the table. And she told me that the sword had been given to her father by Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber of Kuwait at that time and King Faisal when they came together in 1912. It was unbelievable. I’ll never forget that.”
In 2003, after the US and UK invaded Iraq, toppling Saddam Hussein, Ambassador Al Duwaisan felt his mission was complete and began preparations to return home.
The queen however, had other plans, appointing Mr Al Duwaisan the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, a role he has fulfilled with renowned dedication and generosity, advising more than 750 newly arrived heads of mission on diplomatic life in London and representing the body during at least a hundred state occasions.
Even when he reached the retirement age of 65, the Foreign Ministry made an exception and 29 years after taking up the post in London, he remains in the UK capital. Mr Al Duwaisan is also the Dean of Arab Ambassadors.
Perhaps inspired by the queen’s work ethic, the ambassador doesn’t look ready to hang up his many caps yet and certainly hopes the sovereign he so admires won’t be doing so anytime soon either.
“You are lucky with this queen. She is not replaceable. Whoever comes after her won't be like her,” says Mr Al Duwaisan.
“As an ambassador and Dean of Arab ambassadors I feel a lot of respect for this lady so I wish her happiness, long life and good health.”
Queen Elizabeth II with royals and world leaders through the years — in pictures
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Ramy%3A%20Season%203%2C%20Episode%201
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
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The%20National%20selections
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Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
'Midnights'
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
The%20specs
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30, December 1-2
International Vets
Christina Noble Children’s Foundation fixtures
Thursday, November 30:
10.20am, Pitch 3, v 100 World Legends Project
1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders
Friday, December 1:
9am, Pitch 4, v SBA Pirates
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
