As befits his religion and position, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia, will be sticking to the soft drinks when he is guest of honour at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace tonight.

Britons among the 170 guests in the ballroom will be free to sample the finest vintages from the Palace cellars. The Queen, while respecting the customs of her guest and his entourage, regards it as inhospitable not to offer alcohol to those who are accustomed to it.

The Queen can at least offer her visitor a bed. Like most visiting heads of state, the King will stay in the Belgian Suite. But the Queen can accommodate only ten more of his vast entourage, which arrived yesterday in five jumbo jets. The rest will be scattered around expensive London hotels. “There are 10,000 princes in Saudi, each with wealth and influence,” a British diplomatic source said yesterday. “When they travel, they travel big.” When the King takes his annual holiday in Marbella, southern Spain, however, his entourage occupies only two 747 aircraft.

The visiting party to London does not include a single official woman and the 83-year-old custodian of much of the world’s oil reserves will not require accommodation for a spouse. Among the visiting princes are Prince Saud, the Foreign Minister, and Prince Bandar, the National Security Adviser, who was at the centre of the BAe Systems inquiry. Each has his own entourage, adding up to numbers that would overwhelm the Palace. Even President Bush arrived for his state visit on a single aircraft – plus, of course, the White House press corps aircraft that follows his every journey. When the Queen travels abroad she also confines herself to a single aircraft and takes an entourage, from the private secretary to the hairdresser, which numbers little more than 30.

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The King is being accorded top priority. When he arrived privately at Heathrow yesterday afternoon he was greeted by the Prince of Wales. The same happened at the last Saudi state visit in 1987, when the Prince and Diana, Princess of Wales, were dispatched to welcome King Fahd at a private arrival at Gatwick airport. When a visiting head of state arrives privately in advance of his full ceremonial state visit, it is normal for one of the more junior members of the Royal Family, such the Duke of Gloucester, to offer the private handshake.

Gordon Brown, who spent ten years as Chancellor refusing to dress up for banquets, has spent £3,000 of taxpayers’ money ordering a white tie and tails from Savile Row to wear tonight.

The state visit will largely follow the standard pattern, with a ceremonial arrival on Horse Guards Parade and a carriage drive down The Mall, followed by lunch at the Palace and a private viewing of Saudi-related items from the Royal Collection.

There will be talks and lunch at 10 Downing Street, a banquet by the Lord Mayor of London at Guildhall, a meeting with the Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Saudi-British Society, and a visit from David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader. Vincent Cable, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, is boycotting the visit.

Most state visitors lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey but the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will not be entering a Christian church.

The timetable

Today King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz al Saud is welcomed officially by the Queen on Horse Guards Parade before reviewing a guard of honour. State carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace. The Queen hosts state banquet this evening

Tomorrow Talks with Gordon Brown at No 10 followed by lunch with Cabinet ministers. Talks with the Prince of Wales at Clarence House; meeting with David Cameron. Evening banquet at Guildhall given by the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London. Duke of York represents the Queen

Thursday The King bids farewell to the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace

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