Ruling family of Muscat and Oman

This file relates to a private visit of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman Saeed Bin Taimur to the UK. It contains correspondence concerning:

• Note on the programme of the visit and arrival of the Sultan (14)
• Likely date of the Sultan’s arrival in early May and an invitation to St John’s College, Cambridge (1)
• Letter from F C L Chauncy on the Sultan’s travel plans and communication with the Commander British Forces Arabian Peninsula and the Governor of Aden on the Sultan’s transportation (2)
• Question of Chauncy coming to the UK for part of the visit, as well as the Political Resident B A B Burrows; the assertion by Burrows that his presence would be very inconvenient due to him shortly leaving the post (3, 7)
• Transport of the Sultan from Muscat to Salalah by a tanker from BP (4, 12)
• The Sultan’s wish not to be invited as a guest of HMG but he is happy to accept invitation to informal engagements (5)
• Letter from Chauncy on the Sultan’s programme for his visit to England (6)
• Difficulties caused by the Sultan’s proposal to arrive while Parliament is in recess and a request to explain this to the Sultan and in particular the inability of a minister to meet him on arrival because of this; the possible invitation of the Sultan for discussions at Chequers; the Sultan’s decision to decline the invitation due to it being too soon after his arrival to hold high level talks (8, 10)
• P R M Waterfield’s suggestion that the Sultan visit the gunnery at Lark Hill (9)
• Telegram on the private nature of the Sultan’s visit, the decision that no discussions at ministerial level will take place in the first week and the provision that some official should meet him on arrival (11)
• Invitation from the Queen to the Sultan for lunch on the 5 June 1958 for the presentation of an honour (13)