The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall host a reception ahead of their visit to The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria

Today The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall hosted a reception at St James’s Palace ahead of their visit to The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria.

Attendees at the reception included notable British West Africans from the world of media, sport, fashion and the arts.

Ruti Olajugbagbe, winner of The Voice, men's fashion designer Ozwald Boateng and rapper Lethal Bizzle were just some of the individuals present.

Rapper Tinie Tempah, whose real name is Patrick Okogwu and is of Nigerian descent, said: "I think the West African diaspora has played a very pivotal role in the growth and development of Britain over the past 50 years to even longer."

He added: "It's nice we can have this direct one-on-one conversation with the prince and duchess to be able to tell them our experience and, more importantly, to tell them how amazing Africa is.

"West Africa especially is the place to be right now in terms of culture, in terms of music, in terms of fashion, in terms of art. I can't get enough of it, as a British-born young man I'm spending a lot of my time in Nigeria at the moment."

Edward Enninful, Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue and of Ghanaian heritage, echoed the words of Tempah, saying: "I think it's really great how The Prince has invited people from the West African diaspora here, he's always so supportive of the Commonwealth."

Speaking about the impact Britons from West Africa have made, Enninful added: "It's a great contribution - it's Great Britain, we've all grown up in this amazing country and are happy to contribute what we can in our different fields."

Their Royal Highnesses' visit to The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria will take place from 31 October – 8 November. The visits will highlight key themes in these relationships, including the importance of our Commonwealth ties – find out more here.