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When the Queen came calling: Elizabeth’s three visits to India

During her reign she undertook three state visits to india, in 1961, 1983, and 1997. the queen and her royal consort, prince philip, the duke of edinburgh, first visited india in january 1961, the first royal british tour of india in 50 years..

Queen Elizabeth II, the head of state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Britain’s longest serving monarch died at the age of 96 on Thursday (September 8), after holding the throne for nearly 70 years.

After her father, King George VI died in 1952, Elizabeth ascended to the throne five years after India attained independence from colonial rule, becoming the first British ruler to take the throne after the empire lost its ‘jewel in the crown’. During her reign she undertook three state visits to India, in 1961, 1983, and 1997.

First visit: 1961

The Queen and her royal consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, first visited India in January 1961, the first royal British tour of India in 50 years. According to newspapers cited by the BBC, people were so excited to catch a glimpse of her during the visit, that nearly a million people thronged the route that took her from the airport to the official residence of the President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, in New Delhi .

The royal couple toured Bombay ( Mumbai ), Madras ( Chennai ), and Calcutta ( Kolkata ), and also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Pink Palace in Rajasthan . She paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in New Delhi.

President Dr Rajendra Prasad invited them as Guests of Honour for the Republic Day parade on January 26 of that year, and the Queen addressed thousands of people at a meeting in Delhi’s Ramlila Ground.

Second visit: 1983

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s next royal visit took place nearly two decades later, upon the invitation of President Giani Zail Singh, and they stayed at the visitors’ suite of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. According to a newspaper cited by the BBC, the Indian furnishings were replaced with Viceregal decor for the visit, and old Western style dishes were prepared for her, since the Queen was said to like “simple meals”.

Her royal visit was at the same time as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) hosted by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During her visit, the Queen famously presented Mother Teresa — now Saint Teresa of Calcutta — with the honorary Order of Merit, an extremely exclusive reward that is only limited to 42 living members at one time, for her service to humanity.

Third visit: 1997

Her final and third royal visit to India in October 1997 was to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of India’s Independence. During her stay, Queen Elizabeth touched on the violence unleashed by British colonial rule in India. “It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” she said in her banquet address.

Amidst the calls for an apology for the killing of thousands of peaceful protesters upon the orders of General Reginald Dyer for protesting against the Rowlatt Act in 1919, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar and placed a wreath at the memorial.

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While her speech and visit did not satisfy those who had called for an explicit apology, the BBC reported that it seemed to appease the relatives of those who were killed, who had planned a protest at the Amritsar airport during her arrival. The Queen was allowed to enter the Golden Temple after taking off her shoes

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Queen Elizabeth II made 3 visits to India, admired country's richness, diversity

In 1961, the queen and her husband, the late prince phillip – duke of edinburgh, toured mumbai, chennai and kolkata..

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Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 on Thursday, was the first British monarch to accede to the throne after India’s Independence from colonial rule in 1952 and admired the “richness and diversity” of India where she made three State Visits over the course of her reign in 1961, 1983 and 1997.

“The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people, and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us,” she said in one of her addresses.

In 1961, the Queen and her husband, the late Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, toured Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata then Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta and also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in New Delhi.

They were Guests of Honour at the Republic Day Parade on the invitation of the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, and an enduring image from the tour shows the Queen addressing a massive crowd of several thousand people packed into Ramlila Grounds in Delhi for her address, dressed in a fur coat and hat.

In 1983, her visit was in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and she famously presented Mother Teresa with an honorary Order of the Merit. Her final visit to India was to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of India’s Independence and for the first time she made a reference to “difficult episodes” of colonial history.

“It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” the monarch noted in her banquet address.

ALSO READ| ‘70 years on the throne ’When The Queen Visited India

She and her husband later paid a visit to the scene of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar to place a wreath at the memorial, amid widespread calls for an apology for the thousands killed at the orders of a British General during the Raj era.

Over the years, the Queen has also hosted three Indian presidents Dr Radhakrishnan in 1963, R. Venkataraman in 1990 and Pratibha Patil in 2009.

“Britain and India have a long-shared history which today is a source of great strength in building a new partnership fit for this new century,” the Queen said in her State Banquet address for President Patil at Buckingham Palace.

“Nearly 2 million of our own citizens are tied by descent and enduring family links to India. They represent one of the United Kingdom’s most dynamic and successful communities relations between our two countries are built on strong and deep foundations, and are set fair for the 21st century,” she said.

The Queen’s death triggers what is dubbed in Britain’s royal circles as Operation London Bridge or the formal preparations and protocol that kicks in following the death of the monarch with Operation Spring Tide, or the accession of her son and heir Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, to the throne.

ALSO READ| From the India Today archives (1983) | Royal roundabout: When Queen Elizabeth II came visiting India

As the Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Operation Unicorn has also kicked in which involves her body being transported to London by train.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday.

“The King and the Queen Consort [Charles and Camilla] will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow [Friday],” the statement said.

“London Bridge is down” is allegedly the way in which the death of the monarch would have been communicated to the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, by the Queen’s Private Secretary, who will also tell the Cabinet Secretary and the Privy Council of senior officials and ministers.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Global Response Centre is responsible for informing governments outside the UK where she is Head of State, followed by other Commonwealth nations including India. The day of her death is referred to as D-Day, with each subsequent day a countdown until the funeral, expected 10 days after her death.

It comes just days after she appointed her 15th Prime Minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she had been staying for her summer break. It marked a historic first for a British Prime Minister to not be anointed at Buckingham Palace in London after it was decided the journey would be avoided for the monarch, who has been suffering some mobility issues since last year and has been using a walking stick.

The UK had celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of its longest serving monarch on a grand scale in June, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday. Her husband, Prince Philip, passed away aged 99 last April. Published By: Ritika Shah Published On: Sep 10, 2022 --- ENDS --- ALSO READ | Legacy of Queen Elizabeth II: Uncanny coincidences 70 years apart | VIEWS

In Pics: Queen Elizabeth II's Three Royal Visits To India

The 96-year-old queen died on thursday at balmoral castle in scotland after remaining the uk's longest-serving monarch for 70 years..

She was the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee earlier this year.

Queen Elizabeth II was accorded a rousing reception in 1961 at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan where she addressed a massive gathering in presence of the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during one of her three State visits to India and had also formally inaugurated the institute buildings of AIIMS.

The 96-year-old queen died on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after remaining the UK's longest-serving monarch for 70 years. She was the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee earlier this year. Her husband Prince Philip predeceased her last year just a couple of months shy of turning 100.

Queen Elizabeth II addressing a large gathering at Ramleela Maidan.

Elizabeth II's grandfather King George V and royal consort Queen Mary visited India to attend the historic Delhi Durbar in December 1911 to mark his coronation, and 50 years later, Queen Elizabeth II became the serving British monarch to visit India.

Seven years after her coronation in June 1953, she undertook her first royal visit to India, along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in January 1961. The royal couple toured Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Seven years after her coronation in June 1953, she undertook her first royal visit to India, along with Prince Philip.

They also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi.

In Delhi, the queen was given a rousing reception at the Ramlila Maidan, where she addressed a massive gathering of people, with Nehru and Prince Philip also present on the dais.

The royal couple also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Several thousands of citizens cheered and waved small flags of both countries, as the royal couple were felicitated by the then mayor of Delhi Sham Nath, on a huge elevated oriental-style rostrum, with ceremonial Indian 'hars' (garlands).

The queen was gifted an artistic model of 12th-century minaret Qutub Minar, while the duke of Edinburgh received a silver candelabra, as per rare archival footage of the royal tour.

The platform, which now wears a rather faded look, and the Ramlila Maidan, located between New Delhi and Old Delhi, have witnessed some of the historic events that unfolded in the seven decades since Independence.

The queen was gifted an artistic model of 12th-century minaret Qutub Minar on her visit to India.

The queen, during the Delhi leg of her tour, had also attended the Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath (now renamed Kartavya Path).

Accompanied by Prince Philip, she also formally opened the institute buildings of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on January 27 at a ceremony attended by the then president Rajendra Prasad.

AIIMS was established in 1956. A plaque commemorating the event still stands on a pillar inside the J L Nehru Auditorium building, and on its diamond jubilee in 2016, some of the rare images from her visit to the premier institute were displayed in an exhibition hosted on the campus.

The queen had also planted a tree on the grand opening of the campus, but it was lost to termites.

"It was a glittering ceremony and on the opening day, she had planted a tree. Unfortunately, we have lost that tree to termites. But we have planted new trees there," the then director of AIIMS Dr M C Misra had told PTI in 2016.

The royal family in the past has recalled memories of the queen's India visit, sharing old pictures from the tour on its official social media handles.

A portrait of the queen bearing "1926-2022" below it now has been put up on its social media page to mourn her death.

The queen also formally opened the institute buildings of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

"The Queen and The Royal Family have a personal connection with India and have visited several times," it had tweeted in 2017.

"The Queen's first State Visit to India was in 1961, as the guest of Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India," the Royal Family had said in a subsequent tweet.

"Her Majesty has undertaken three State Visits to India, the first of which was in 1961 - The Queen addresses a crowd in Ramlila Ground and The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh on a walkabout in New Delhi, 1961," it had said in a tweet in 2019 and shared two rare pictures of the 1961 visit.

From India, the royal couple had gone to Pakistan.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made two other visits to India - in 1983 and 1997, when India marked the 50th year of its independence.

Her son and heir Charles succeeds her on the throne as King Charles III.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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When Queen Elizabeth II first visited India in 1961

The queen visited in 1961 with her husband, the late duke of edinburgh prince phillip, and presided over the republic day parade as guest of honour on the invitation of india’s first president dr. rajendra prasad..

• Updated Sep 10, 2022, 5:33 PM IST

Britain's longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday, visited India three times in 1961, 1983, and 1997. But her first visit, which was 15 years after India’s Independence, was a significant one given that she was the first reigning monarch to visit the former colony. The Queen visited in 1961 with her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh Phillip, and presided over the Republic Day Parade as Guest of Honour on the invitation of India’s first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

The Royal couple also toured Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, and also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in New Delhi. 

During the Delhi leg of her 1961 tour, she also visited Rajghat and offered a ceremonial wreath at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial. The Queen and her husband took off their footwear and wore velvet slippers before entering the memorial. She also addressed a massive crowd at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi, where thousands came to listen to her address. “The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us,” she said in one of her addresses.

1983: Commonwealth Meeting  

The Queen again visited India in 1983 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). India, the Commonwealth's largest member state, hosted the seventh CHOGM Summit under then PM Indira Gandhi's leadership. 

She was on a nine-day State Visit to India along with Prince Philip.  During that visit, the Queen famously presented Mother Teresa with the Insignia of the Honorary Order of Merit on November 24, 1983. 

1997: Tribute at Jallianwala Bagh  

She again visited India to mark the 50th-anniversary celebrations of India's Independence, and famously spoke about "difficult episodes" of colonial history for the very first time. 

On 13 October 1997, the Queen referenced the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in a state banquet address. “It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past — Jallianwala Bagh, which I shall visit tomorrow, is a distressing example,” she said. 

On the next day, 14 October, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh went to Amritsar to pay obeisance at Jallianwala Bagh, where she bowed and placed a wreath at the memorial. 

During her reign, the monarch hosted three Indian presidents – Dr. Radhakrishnan in 1963, R. Venkataraman in 1990, and Pratibha Patil in 2009, and openly spoke about India and Britain’s partnership in the new century. "Britain and India have a long-shared history which today is a source of great strength in building a new partnership fit for this new century,” the Queen said in her State Banquet address for President Patil at Buckingham Palace.

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10 Pictures that take you inside the Queen's visits to India

By Vogue.in

Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth visited India several times, meeting with heads of state and touring the country's most-loved historical sites

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip 's first visit to India was in 1961, where the royal couple was greeted by both heads of the Indian state. During their trip, the monarch and her consort took a tour of India's most-loved monuments, including the Taj Mahal. During Prince Phillip's lifetime, the two visited India three times: in 1961, 1983 and in 1997—the year the couple visited India to mark the republic's fiftieth anniversary of independence from British rule.

During their first visit, the Queen and Prince Phillip toured Mumbai (then Bombay), Jaipur, Agra, Calcutta and Chennai (then Madras). In Jaipur, the Maharaja of Jaipur hosted the royal couple for a round of hunting, and they were also the guests of honour for that year's Republic Day parade. The people of India came out in record numbers to witness this historic tour, lining the streets to watch the royal processions.

Look through a gallery of historic images that give us a glimpse into Queen Elizabeth II's tours of India, and the many people and places she visited while here.

Queen Elizabeth II with President Rajendra Prasad (1884 - 1963) and Prince Philip on the occasion of the President's reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi following the Republic Day Parade (1961)

Queen Elizabeth II riding an elephant in Benares during a tour of India (1961)

Queen Elizabeth II shares a joke with husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Indian Prime Minister Pandit Nehru (1889 - 1964) during a National Cadet Corps rally in New Delhi (1961)

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visiting the Taj Mahal during their six week royal visit to India  (1961)

 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit the shrine of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi (1961)

Queen Elizabeth II meets Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi (1983)

Queen Elizabeth II at Hyderabad House in New Delhi (1983)

Queen Elizabeth II presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi (1983)

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Queen Elizabeth's visits to India

The monarch visited the former british colony three times after her coronation — in 1961, 1983 and 1997.

Queen Elizabeth II on a visit to a community development project at Bakrota, on January 22, 1961 near Jaipur, during her visit to India. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II dies - follow the latest news as the world mourns

Queen Elizabeth II , who died on Thursday at the age of 96, made three state visits to the former British colony during her 70-year reign and cherished the “warmth and hospitality” she was accorded there.

The queen's visit in 1961 was the first visit by a British monarch since India gained independence in 1947, and was followed by visits in 1983 and in 1997 as the country marked 50 years of independence.

"The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people, and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us,” she said in one of her addresses.

On her maiden visit after taking the throne in 1952 after the death of her father and the last emperor of India, King George VI, she laid a wreath at the memorial to India's renowned freedom campaigner Mahatma Gandhi.

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh , were invited as guests of honour at the Republic Day Parade.

Dressed in a fur coat and hat, the queen addressed a crowd of thousands of people at New Delhi's Ramlila Ground.

The royal couple also formally inaugurated the building of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the capital — the country’s premier hospital and medical institute — in a ceremony attended by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad.

Watch: Queen Elizabeth II's three visits to India

Queen Elizabeth and her husband also visited India's other main cities, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, Rajasthan state and the Taj Mahal, the 17th-century Mughal-era mausoleum in Agra, during that trip.

She also took an elephant ride in a royal procession in Varanasi, a sacred Hindu city, while enjoying the hospitality of the erstwhile King of Benaras .

People perched on rooftops and balconies to catch a glimpse of the queen, whose grandfather King George V was the last British monarch to visit India before her in 1911.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited India again in 1983 at the invitation of President Giani Zail Singh.

The royal couple stayed in the refurbished wing of the opulent Rashtrapati Bhavan , the president's house, which was once the residence of British viceroys.

For their stay, the usual Kashmiri-style furnishings were replaced with viceregal decor, and the bed linen, curtains and tapestries were changed to blend with the regal past, according to a report by The New York Times .

The queen presented Mother Teresa with an Honorary Order of Merit during the visit.

On the queen's last visit in 1997, as India celebrated 50 years of independence, she visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial at Amritsar in Punjab.

The memorial commemorates those killed when British troops fired on a crowd of 10,000 men, women and children who had gathered to celebrate Baisakhi, a spring festival, in defiance of a ban on gatherings.

The garden had only one exit that was blocked by British soldiers, forcing many people to jump into a well to dodge bullets. The massacre was a turning point in India’s freedom movement.

Queen Elizabeth placed a wreath at the memorial and acknowledged that there were “difficult episodes” in India’s colonial history.

“It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined other world leaders in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth after her death was announced on Thursday.

Mr Modi, who met the queen in 2015 and 2018, described her as a "stalwart of our times".

"She provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people. She personified dignity and decency in public life," he wrote on Twitter.

Flags lowered to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II — in pictures

The Union flag is lowered at the Houses of Parliament following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 08, 2022 in London, England. Getty

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Queen Elizabeth II and her visits to India

Updated Sep 9, 2022, 21:05 IST

Queen Elizabeth II (file).

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Queen Elizabeth made 3 visits to India during reign, admired country's richness, diversity

London: Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 on Thursday, was the first British monarch to accede to the throne after India's Independence from colonial rule in 1952 and admired the "richness and diversity" of India where she made three State Visits over the course of her reign in 1961, 1983 and 1997.

The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us, she said in one of her addresses.

In 1961, the Queen and her husband, the late Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, toured Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, then Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, and also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in New Delhi.

Tribute | Queen Elizabeth II, a majestic legacy

PM Modi remembers Queen Elizabeth as 'stalwart of our times'

They were Guests of Honour at the Republic Day Parade on the invitation of the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, and an enduring image from the tour shows the Queen addressing a massive crowd of several thousand people packed into Ramlila Grounds in Delhi for her address, dressed in a fur coat and hat.

In 1983, her visit was in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and she famously presented Mother Teresa with an honorary Order of the Merit. Her final visit to India was to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of India's Independence and for the first time, she made a reference to difficult episodes of colonial history.

It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example, the monarch noted in her banquet address.

She and her husband later paid a visit to the scene of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar to place a wreath at the memorial, amid widespread calls for an apology for the thousands killed at the orders of a British General during the Raj era.

Over the years, the Queen has also hosted three Indian presidents, Dr Radhakrishnan, in 1963, R Venkataraman in 1990 and Pratibha Patil in 2009.

Britain and India have a long-shared history which today is a source of great strength in building a new partnership fit for this new century, the Queen said in her State Banquet address for President Patil at Buckingham Palace.

Nearly two million of our own citizens are tied by descent and enduring family links to India. They represent one of the United Kingdom's most dynamic and successful communities relations between our two countries are built on strong and deep foundations and are set fair for the 21st century, she said.

The Queen's death triggers what is dubbed in Britain's royal circles as Operation London Bridge or the formal preparations and protocol that kicks in following the death of the monarch with Operation Spring Tide, or the accession of her son and heir Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, to the throne.

As the Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Operation Unicorn also kicked in which involves her body being transported to London by train.

"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday.

"The King and the Queen Consort [Charles and Camilla] will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow [Friday]," the statement said.

'London Bridge is down' is allegedly the way in which the death of the monarch would have been communicated to the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, by the Queen's Private Secretary, who will also tell the Cabinet Secretary and the Privy Council of senior officials and ministers.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Global Response Centre is responsible for informing governments outside the UK where she is Head of State, followed by other Commonwealth nations, including India. The day of her death is referred to as D-Day, with each subsequent day a countdown until the funeral, expected 10 days after her death.

It comes just days after she appointed her 15th Prime Minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she had been staying for her summer break. It marked a historic first for a British Prime Minister to not be anointed at Buckingham Palace in London after it was decided the journey would be avoided for the monarch, who has been suffering some mobility issues since last year and has been using a walking stick.

The UK celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of its longest-serving monarch on a grand scale in June, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday. Her husband, Prince Philip, passed away aged 99 last April.

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From India with Love: When Queen rode an elephant in Varanasi, showed Modi a gift from Mahatma Gandhi

Queen Elizabeth II’s first trip to India was in 1961 and she touched a chord. When she visited the Gandhi memorial, she took off her sandals to keep with Indian tradition. In 2015, she invited Narendra Modi for lunch at Buckingham Palace

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was the world’s most-travelled monarch. In her 70 years on the throne, she visited 140 countries, spending almost four years on state visits.

During her travails and the course of her life, she had many encounters with Indian greats. The Queen visited the country not once but thrice, meeting prime ministers and presidents, visiting monuments, and touching many a heart.

Also read: Queen Elizabeth II death live updates

In the event of her death on Thursday, we take a short trip down memory lane.

When Queen removed sandals before visiting Raj Ghat

In 1952, Elizabeth II was the first monarch to ascend to the throne after India fought the British and became independent. She made her first visit to the country nine years after becoming queen in 1961 with her husband Prince Phillip , Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen was the first British monarch to visit India in 50 years. Her grandfather King George V and Queen Mary had visited in 1911, decades before India got Independence.

Elizabeth II and her husband were received at Delhi airport by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, President Rajendra Prasad, and Vice President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan The couple were Guests of Honour at the Republic Day Parade at the invitation of Dr Prasad.

Nehru also hosted an event at Ramlila Maidan to welcome the Queen, where she gave a speech thanking India for the warm welcome. An enduring image from the tour, shows the Queen addressing a massive crowd of several thousand people packed into Ramlila Grounds, dressed in a fur coat and hat.

Also read: Will the Kohinoor go to Camilla? Examining the murky history and fate of world’s most famous diamond

During the event, the Delhi Corporation gifted the queen a two-feet long model of the Qutub Minar made of elephant tusk. The Duke received a silver candelabra, reports India Today . In Delhi, she inaugurated the institute buildings of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on 27 January, where she planted a sapling on the premises.

The royal couple visited Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Raj Ghat in the Capital and the Queen, keeping with the Indian tradition, took off her sandals; her husband did the same. She also wrote a tribute in the visitor’s book. It is said that it’s rare for her to write anything other than her signature. Interestingly, Gandhi had personally woven a shawl as a gift to the Queen (then a princess) for her wedding. Adventures in India

The British royals’ next stop was the Taj Mahal in Agra to which they drove in an open car, waving to hundreds who gathered on the roads to get a glimpse of the monarch. They then visited Udaipur, where they got a royal welcome from the Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar and in Jaipur, they were invited to a hunting day by the maharaja and Philip reportedly killed a tiger. In Varanasi, she took an elephant ride in a royal procession, enjoying the hospitality of the erstwhile Maharaja of Benares.

The Queen and Prince Philip toured Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata — then Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, reports news agency PTI .

Meeting Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa

The Queen’s next visit to India came two decades later in 1983. She visited the country at the invitation of then-President Giani Zail Singh. This time, the royal couple stayed at the refurbished wing of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

During this visit, the monarch met the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She also Mother Teresa and presented her with the honorary Order of the Merit, a British award for eminent service. The order is limited to only 24 members, although the British monarch can appoint foreigners as “honorary members”.

Visiting Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple

The Queen’s last visit to India came in 1997, as India marked 50 years of Independence. It was significant in more ways than one, as she referred to “difficult episodes” of colonial history.

“It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” the monarch noted in her banquet address.

The royal couple later paid a visit to the scene of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar and placed a wreath at the memorial, amid widespread calls for an apology for the thousands killed at the orders of British General Reginald Dyer during the Raj. She also visited the Golden Temple, where she was presented with a replica of the holy site.

#WATCH | Queen Elizabeth II visited Golden Temple in Punjab's Amritsar, back in the year 1997 (File footage) pic.twitter.com/wGgYUW5dI5 — ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2022

In Delhi, she met with then President KR Narayanan and his wife Usha Narayanan, and then Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral and his wife Sheela Gujral. She also visited St Thomas school in the Capital.

Hosting India’s presidents

Over the years, the sovereign has hosted three Indian presidents – Dr Radhakrishnan in 1963, R Venkataraman in 1990, and Pratibha Patil in 2009, reports PTI .

“Britain and India have a long-shared history which today is a source of great strength in building a new partnership fit for this new century,” the Queen said in her state banquet address for President Patil at Buckingham Palace.

“Nearly two million of our own citizens are tied by descent and enduring family links to India. They represent one of the United Kingdom’s most dynamic and successful communities… relations between our two countries are built on strong and deep foundations, and are set fair for the 21st century,” she added.

Meeting Manmohan Singh and Modi

In the two last decades, the Queen met former PM Dr Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi several times.

In April 2009, the Queen met Dr Manmohan Singh during a reception hosted for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace in London.

She met Modi during his visits to the United Kingdom in 2015 and 2018. In 2015, the PM was invited to lunch at Buckingham Palace in London. Her Royal Highness gave him a tour of the palace and showcased the royal art and artefact collection.

I had memorable meetings with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during my UK visits in 2015 and 2018. I will never forget her warmth and kindness. During one of the meetings she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding. I will always cherish that gesture. pic.twitter.com/3aACbxhLgC — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 8, 2022

The second meeting between the duo took place in April 2018 when PM Modi was on a four-day visit to the UK. He met Elizabeth II ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which saw a gathering of 53 heads of government. This meeting again culminated in a royal dinner gala which was hosted by the Queen for the world leaders.

In a tribute to the Queen after her death, PM recalled the time she had shown him a gift from Mahatma Gandhi. “I will never forget her warmth and kindness. I will always cherish that gesture,” he wrote on Twitter.

With inputs from agencies

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Queen Elizabeth II And Independent India: A Journey of 'Shared History' and Pending Apology

Curated By : News Desk

Last Updated: September 09, 2022, 20:50 IST

New Delhi, India

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II delivers her speech during an evening banquet at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on October 13, 1997. (Reuters)

Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne five years after India gained Independence from the British Raj. During her final visit to India in 1997, many expected her to offer an apology on behalf of her country for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. That expectation passes on to her son, King Charles III

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II started her reign in 1952, five years after India gained Independence from the vast colonial empire she headed. The British monarch, who died on Thursday passing the crown to son Charles , was known to nurture a special fondness for India. This bond was furthered by her proximity to Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India and her husband Prince Philip’s maternal uncle who steered his nephew into the British royal family.

While she enjoyed the warmth and hospitality of the Indian people on these visits, the relationship was not without its dark episodes, alluded to by the Queen herself in speeches.

Her death, ironically, came on a day the Indian government renamed the iconic Rajpath to Kartavya Path. The ceremonial boulevard running from the Raisina Hill complex to India Gate had started its journey as Kingsway, built after the imperial seat of the administration was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi under the reign of Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V in 1911. It was on this boulevard that the Queen and her husband Prince Philip witnessed India’s Republic Day Parade as Guests of Honour during their first royal visit in 1961.

The Queen is Coming

Queen Elizabeth II undertook three State Visits to India. In January 1961, the Queen and her husband, the late Prince Phillip, toured Bombay, Madras and Calcutta (now Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) and also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi. This was her first royal visit to India, seven years after her coronation in June 1953.

They were Guests of Honour at the Republic Day Parade on the invitation of the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad. An enduring image from the tour shows the Queen addressing a massive crowd of several thousand people packed into Ramlila Grounds in Delhi, with India’s first prime minister Nehru and Prince Philip also present on the dais.

Thousands cheered and waved small flags of both countries as the royal couple were felicitated by the then mayor of Delhi Sham Nath on a huge elevated oriental-style rostrum, with ceremonial Indian garlands. The queen was gifted an artistic model of 12th-century minaret Qutub Minar, while the Duke of Edinburgh received a silver candelabra.

On January 27, 1961, she also formally opened the institute buildings of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at a ceremony attended by the then president Rajendra Prasad. AIIMS was established in 1956.

A plaque commemorating the event still stands on a pillar inside the JL Nehru Auditorium building, and on its diamond jubilee in 2016, some of the rare images from her visit to the premier institute were displayed in an exhibition hosted on the campus.

In 1983, Queen Elizabeth’s visit was in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and she famously presented Mother Teresa with an honorary Order of the Merit.

Her final visit to India in 1997 was to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of India’s Independence and for the first time she made a reference to difficult episodes of colonial history.

Jallianwala Bagh: Regret But No Apology

Multiple British prime ministers and envoys to India have expressed “regret” over one of the British Empire’s bloodiest episodes in India and have laid wreaths in Amritsar at the scene of the notorious massacre of unarmed civilians. But no representative of the Crown or government has issued a direct apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

Queen Elizabeth referenced the slaughter, described by Mahatma Gandhi as having shaken the foundations of the British Empire, during her 1997 visit to India.

“It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” the monarch noted in her banquet address.

She and her husband later paid a visit to the scene of the massacre in Amritsar to place a wreath at the memorial amid widespread calls for an apology for the thousands killed during a Baisakhi gathering at the orders of General Dyer on April 13, 1919.

Sukumar Mukherjee, secretary of the trust that takes care of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, remembers the Queen visiting the scene and paying tribute to the dead, but stopping short of offering an apology.

Many had expected her to offer an apology then on behalf of her country, but that didn’t happen. Instead, an insensitive remark reportedly made by Prince Philip, questioning the fatality count of the massacre, upset many Indians.

But Mukherjee says the visit itself was significant. “I think when she came to the Jallianwala Bagh here she paid respect to the martyrs and she also observed a minute of silence. It is not a minor thing that the Queen of a country does that and I think it was more than an apology,” he has been quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

But for Mahesh Behal, whose grandfather Lala Hari Ram Behal was killed at Jallianwala Bagh, the gesture amounted to nothing.

“The visit of the Queen in 1997 to Jallianwala Bagh was meaningless without her expression of apology. During her visit to the place of martyrs, she should have directly offered an apology but she never did so,” he says.

“When she arrived in India in 1997, a large group from the families of freedom fighters from Amritsar went to Rajghat in Delhi, where we all sat on a hunger strike and said that without an apology her visit to Amritsar will remain meaningless,” recalls Behal.

In April 1919, when the centenary of the massacre was observed, the UK government flagged “financial implications” as one of the factors it had to consider while reflecting upon demands for a formal apology.

Then UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field said during a debate on “Jallianwala Bagh massacre” at Westminster Hall in the House of Commons complex that while it was important to draw a line under the past over the “shameful episode” in history, repeatedly issuing apologies for events related to the British Raj came with their own problems.

“I have slightly orthodox views on Britain’s colonial past. I feel little reluctant to make apologies for things that have happened in the past… There are also concerns that any government department has to make about any apology, given that there may well be financial implications to making an apology,” he had said.

“I feel we perhaps debase the currency of apologies if we are seen to make them for many, many events.”

Quest for Kohinoor

The death of Queen Elizabeth has also rekindled the demand for the return of the Kohinoor diamond to India. With her son Prince Charles succeeding to the throne, the 105-carat diamond, which is steeped in history, will go to his wife Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who has now become Queen consort.

Kohinoor, or ‘Mountain of Light’, is a large, colourless diamond that was found in southern India in the early 14th century. The precious gem, which came into British hands during the colonial era, is the subject of a historic ownership dispute and is claimed by at least four countries, including India.

The Kohinoor diamond was “surrendered” by the Maharaja of Lahore to the then Queen of England and “not handed over” to the British nearly 170 years ago, the Archaeological Survey of India replied to an RTI query a few years ago.

However, the Indian government’s stand in the Supreme Court was that the diamond, estimated to cost over $200 million, was neither stolen nor “forcibly” taken by British rulers but given to East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab.

In the book An Era of Darkness , Shashi Tharoor noted that it was once touted to be the world’s largest diamond, weighing 793 carats or 158.6 grams. The diamond is believed to have been first mined near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh by the Kakatiya dynasty in the 13th century.

From its original glory of 158 carats, the diamond has been whittled down to its present 105 carats form over the centuries. Tharoor notes the popular jewel’s journey through royal hands as it passed from the Kakatiyas in the Deccan to Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji and then to the Mughal empire. It reached Afghanistan with Persian invader Nadir Shah.

Legend has it that it was Nadir Shah who named the diamond the Kohinoor. It passed through different dynasties before landing in the possession of the Sikh Maharaja of Punjab, Ranjit Singh, in 1809, Tharoor noted.

He claims that Ranjit Singh’s successor could not hold on to his kingdom and was defeated by the British in two wars. “That was when the Kohinoor fell into British hands.”

Tharoor penned a poignant argument in favour of the diamond’s return to India and made critical remarks against the UK’s colonial history. “Flaunting the Kohinoor on the Queen Mother’s crown in the Tower of London is a powerful reminder of the injustices perpetrated by the former imperial power. Until it is returned at least as a symbolic gesture of expiation it will remain evidence of the loot, plunder and misappropriation that colonialism was really all about,” he said.

Author and historian William Dalrymple noted in his book, Kohinoor that child Sikh heir Duleep Singh regretted having surrendered the jewel to Queen Victoria.

“I would give a good deal to hold it again in my own hand. I was but a child, an infant, when forced to surrender it by treaty… Now that I am a man, I would like to have it in my power to place it myself in Her Majesty’s hand.”

The government has made demands for Kohinoor’s return on several occasions with one as early as 1947. However, the British government over the years have rejected the claims.

On his visit to India in July 2010, then UK prime minister David Cameron said, “If you say yes to one you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty. I am afraid to say, it is going to have to stay put.”

Those who have been calling for the diamond’s return were let down in 2016 when responding to a public interest litigation then Solicitor General of India Ranjit Kumar told the Supreme Court that the Kohinoor was “given voluntarily by Ranjit Singh to the British compensation for help in the Sikh wars”. “The Kohinoor is not a stolen object,” he had said.

Then Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma later ruled out any action by his ministry to bring back the famed diamond, saying that if any call on the matter needs to be taken, it will be at the diplomatic level.

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