Last week, on Wednesday 14th of June 2023, at the Cavalry & Guards Club in central London, The Treaty of London Dinner celebrated the 650th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of London in 1373 between England and Portugal.
Organised by the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK, The Portuguese Diaspora Council and the Portuguese Communities Council, the dinner welcomed as its guest of honour His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of the Portuguese Republic.
The dinner was part of a week of celebrations to mark the Portugal UK 650 anniversary celebrations - during which the President was welcomed to Buckingham Palace by King Charles III, attended a church service in the Queen’s Chapel and a reception at Apsley House as the guest of the Duke of Wellington, and also visited Waddesdon Manor to inaugurate celebrated Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos’s Wedding Cake, a major new Rothschild Foundation commission.
The Treaty of London, also known as the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Alliance, was sealed in St Paul’s Cathedral on the 16th of June 1373, between King Edward III of England and King Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor of Portugal.
The Treaty of London was the ratification and expansion of the Treaty of Tagilde, which had been signed on the 10th of July 1372 in the village of Tagilde in northern Portugal, between King Ferdinand of Portugal and representatives of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the son of the English King Edward III.
These two treaties are considered to constitute the legal foundation of the Anglo Portuguese Alliance, which is the world’s oldest continuous series of treaties and is still in effect to this day.
This historic by-invitation-only event was attended by just over 100 guests made up of members of the Portuguese Diáspora Council, members of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK and other business leaders from the UK and Portugal.
Christina Hippisley, General Manager of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK, highlighted the importance of the event:
“650 years ago, our two great nations signed the Treaty of London to strengthen alliances, promote peace, and foster friendship. Today, the values enshrined in this treaty still underpin the growing levels of business investment and job migration between the UK and Portugal, which are increasing year on year.”
The Treaty of London Dinner was supported by the Visabeira Group, MJ Quinn, Cerro Novo, DeliciasUK, Eversheds Sutherland and Savannah Resources.
