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Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has accepted an invitation to attend King Charles III's coronation, which will take place on 6 May at Westminster Abbey in London.

The UK ambassador in Zimbabwe met the president on Tuesday in the capital, Harare, to discuss the coronation.

Ambassador Melanie Robinson tweeted a picture of the meeting in which they also talked about "trade, investment projects and the importance of peaceful, free and fair elections later this year".

"The president has been invited and has accepted that invitation and will be travelling to London for that," Ms Robinson is quoted as saying by the state-owned Herald newspaper.

The UK's relationship with Zimbabwe soured following land reforms implemented during the tenure of former long-time ruler Robert Mugabe.

In 2003, Zimbabwe pulled out of the Commonwealth with Mr Mugabe referring to it as an "Anglo-Saxon unholy alliance against Zimbabwe" when the group complained about the country's human rights record.

Mr Mugabe was overthrown in 2017, dying nearly two years later, and his successor, President Mnangagwa, has sought to improve relations with the country's critics.

A Commonwealth delegation visited the country last year to consider the country's readmission.

But the US and the European Union both retain sanctions against companies and officials in Zimbabwe, including President Mnangagwa.