Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1952, turning into the primary British monarch after India’s Independence. During her 70-12 months reign, she visited India thrice – in 1961, 1983 and 1997. In certainly considered one among her addresses, the Queen had stated that she loved the “warm temperature and hospitality of the Indian humans”. The Queen had determined the “richness and variety of India” as an inspiration.
Here’s a study her assembly with Indian Prime Ministers for the duration of professional visits:
In 1961, the Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip – Duke of Edinburgh – toured Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. In this photo, the Queen is visible with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She additionally visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in New Delhi for the duration of the go to.
They had been Guests of Honour on the Republic Day Parade at the invitation of the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad. During her go to, the Queen addressed a large crowd of numerous thousand humans packed into Ramlila Grounds in Delhi, wearing a fur coat and hat.
In 1969, the Queen hosted a dinner party in London in which she became noticed speaking to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1983, her go to became in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and she or he famously supplied Mother Teresa with an honorary Order of the Merit.
Her very last go to to India became to mark the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of India’s Independence in 1997 and for the primary time she made a reference to “tough episodes” of colonial history. “It isn’t anyt any mystery that there were a few tough episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” the monarch mentioned in her dinner party address.
In 2009, she met then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the duration of a reception for global leaders attending the G20 summit at Buckingham Palace.
The Queen additionally hosted 3 Indian Presidents – Dr Radhakrishnan in 1963, R Venkataraman in 1990 and Pratibha Patil in 2009.