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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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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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New Delhi:   In October 1961, Queen Elizabeth II made her maiden visit to India — a 23- day royal itinerary packed with receptions of costume parades, dance performances, children’s rallies, visits to industrial enterprises and factories, institutes of arts and sciences, and more.

In their book, ‘Facets of Contemporary History ‘, authors M. Thilakavathy and ‎R.K. Maya said India was in “celebrity fever” in anticipation of the visit, with old roads being renovated, people flocking to the big cities to catch a glimpse of the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip.

Over the course of her reign, she made three state visits to India — 1961, 1983, and 1997 — which were usually part of a larger tour to the region and included trips to countries like Pakistan and Nepal.

She often had kind words to offer such as noting the “warmth and hospitality of the Indian people” and referring to Pakistan as “one of the powers in the world of Islam” .

However, the Queen’s visits weren’t without their share of controversies — her remarks about the Kashmir issue during her 1997 visit to India and Pakistan caused quite a stir and created further friction between the crown and the then Tony Blair-led UK government.

The tail-end of the Queen’s life was marked by scandals closer home — most notably, the claims of racism made by Meghan Markle, a former American actress married to Elizbeth’s grandson, Prince Harry, and the sexual assault allegations against her son, Prince Andrew.   

In an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey last March, Markle, the first person of colour to be married into the royal family, made allegations about the racism she faced in the family after she married Harry.  

A brief response from Buckingham Palace shortly after the interview said the Queen intended to deal with what had become arguably one of the biggest crises of her reign “privately”.

Award-winning journalist Tina Brown notes in her latest book The Palace Papers  that after the death of Princess Diana — the former wife of the Queen’s son Prince Charles, and mother to Princes William and Harry — in a car crash in 1997, the Queen was opposed to the idea of “explosive celebrity” within the royal family.

“Ever since the death of Diana in 1997, the Queen had made it clear to all those who advised her that it could never happen again — the ‘it’ being Diana’s explosive celebrity, the problem of the British monarchy being upstaged, outshone, drowned out by one overweening, dangerously popular member of the family other than the Queen or the heir to the throne,” Brown wrote. 

It wasn’t just the scandal involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that the Queen had to contend with in recent times. There have been sexual assault allegations against her other son, Prince Andrew, and his alleged association with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell .

In January, the Queen took steps to strip her son of his royal titles as he faced a sexual abuse lawsuit. A month later, the lawsuit ended in a settlement, sparing the royal family the humiliation of a trial.

Also Read: There are many reasons why Rishi Sunak lost UK PM chair. But race isn’t the main one

1997 visit to India, Pakistan

The Queen’s trip to India and Pakistan in October 1997 was the first since the death of Princess Diana. But it had been scheduled ahead of time as it sought to celebrate 50 years of independence for both countries.

In 1997 , when in Pakistan, the Queen had allegedly urged New Delhi and Islamabad to settle their long-standing differences over the Kashmir issue — a statement that did not go over well with either country.

Britain’s then-foreign secretary Robin Cook, who had accompanied the Queen on the tour, made matters worse when, during a private meeting with Pakistan’s then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he offered to mediate a solution.

“The Indian press objected to Cook’s remarks, and Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujral (Inder Kumar Gujral) was quoted as dismissing Britain as a ‘third-rate power’ that should know better than to interfere in a bilateral dispute,” noted a Washington Post report at the time.

The same year, the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, visited India. While paying their respects at the site of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, Prince Philip reportedly “caused a stir” when he objected to a sign indicating that 2,000 Indians had been killed in the massacre. He instead asserted that Britain reported the deaths of only 379 people.

‘Chilly’ relations with Tony Blair government

The Queen’s October 1997 visit to India and Pakistan created trouble for the Tony Blair-led UK government at home, which had come to power just four months after Princess Diana’s death in August that year.

After the Queen’s remarks about the Kashmir issue on her 1997 visit to Pakistan, Blair ordered his cabinet to undertake “a full-scale damage-control mission” to shift focus on the successes of the queen’s visit.

Allegations of a “ hidden agenda ” behind the Queen’s visit to India and Pakistan came at a sensitive time for Blair, just over a week before he was slated to meet his Indian counterpart, Gujral, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in Edinburgh.

According to Brown, Blair’s royal relations had got off to “a chilly start” with his government’s decision earlier in the year to retire the royal yacht Britannia, which had been a source of much happiness for the royal family.

“In December 1997, at the ship’s decommissioning ceremony, the Queen shed a rare tear. Britannia represented not only memories of grand and glamorous state visits but also some of her happiest times with the family…. It was the only way she could holiday privately,” wrote Brown.

Despite some tensions, Blair’s government did well to quell media scrutiny of the Queen after Prince Diana’s death — a fact that, according to historian Dominic Sandbrook, rankled the Queen. 

“Nobody likes to be in someone else’s debt and I think the Queen probably did feel, simultaneously, that he had saved her, but, at the same time, she didn’t like the fact that he’d done it,” said Sandbrook last year.

Other historians like Piers Brendon have also said there was resentment towards Blair for ‘intruding’ into the royal family’s affairs.

Despite this, Blair was knighted with the highest possible ranking — Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter — in January this year.  

In a statement issued by him following the Queen’s death, Blair said: “We have lost not just our monarch but the matriarch of our nation”. 

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)

Also Read: ‘My ancestors ruled Hindustan through force & fear. Now others will’ – Bahadur Shah after 1857

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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

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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 Defining Photos From Queen Elizabeth's Visits To India

Queen elizabeth photos: queen elizabeth died on thursday at the age of 96. she was the longest-ruling monarch in britain's history..

Queen Elizabeth during her India visit. (Getty Image)

Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She officially became the Queen in 1952 after her father's death and was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She visited India several times, but her first visit came nearly 15 years after India's independence.

Queen Elizabeth with former PM Jawaharlal Nehru in New Delhi, in 1961. (Getty Image)

Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, first visited the nation in 1961. During their trip, the royal couple met with several heads of state and toured the country's most-loved historical sites, including Taj Mahal. She also attended the grand Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath in New Delhi.

Queen Elizabeth at the Taj Mahal in 1961. (Getty Image)

According to news agency PTI, during the Delhi leg of her 1961 tour, Queen Elizabeth visited Rajghat and offered a ceremonial wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial. In the visitor's book at Gandhi's Samadhi (cremation site), the Queen wrote, "It Is Very Rare To Her To Write Anything Other Than Her Signature".

The Queen and Prince Philip's Signatures In The Visitor's Book. (Getty Image)

She formally opened the institute building of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at an impressive ceremony attended by then-President Rajendra Prasad.

Queen Elizabeth riding an elephant in Varanasi during a tour of India, 25th January 1961. (Getty Image)

The Queen also visited Agra, Bombay (now Mumbai), Benares (now Varanasi), Udaipur, Jaipur, Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Madras (now Chennai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata). In Varanasi, she took an elephant ride in a royal procession, enjoying the hospitality of the erstwhile Maharaja of Benares.

Queen Elizabeth and The Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh II, ride on an elephant on February 6, 1961. (Getty Image)

The couple visited Udaipur too. They were welcomed by the Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar, who introduced the Queen to more than 50 nobles who had joined him in welcoming the royal couple.

Queen Elizabeth during a tiger hunting in February 1961. (Getty Image)

Wherever the Queen went, countless people lined the streets, many perched on rooftops and in balconies to catch a glimpse of 'Her Majesty, the Queen of England', whose grandfather King George V was the last British monarch to visit India before her in 1911. The Queen was gifted an artistic model of Qutub Minar, while the Duke of Edinburgh was presented a silver candelabra, according to rare archival footage of the royal tour.

Queen Elizabeth meets then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi in 1983. (Getty image)

After 1961, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited India together again in 1983 and 1997, when India marked the 50th year of its Independence.

Queen Elizabeth presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa in 1983 in Delhi. (Getty Image)

In 1983, the Queen and Prince Philip 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 and the Queen presented Mother Teresa with an honorary Order of Merit.

The Queen makes her way from the Golden Temple of Amritsar. (Getty Image)

During her third visit to the country to mark the 50th anniversary of India's Independence, Queen Elizabeth visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial at Amritsar. Back then, the Queen had acknowledged, "It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example". She even bowed her head and placed a wreath at the memorial, as per a report in the Independent.

The Queen tours part of the MGR film city studios with Kamal Hassan. (Getty Image)

In 1997, the Queen also visited the sets of actor Kamal Hassan's ambitious film project, Marudhanayagam. She made it to the MGR film city in Chennai where she spent almost 20 minutes.

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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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Queen Elizabeth II addresses a vast gathering of more than a quarter of a million in India, 1961

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II addresses a vast gathering of more than a quarter of a million at the Ramlila Grounds, a huge public meeting place outside the walls of Old Delhi, India, 1961.

The first monarch to be crowned after India’s independence from British colonial rule, the Queen visited India on three occasions. The first of those visits came in 1961 when she and her husband Prince Phillip toured the country’s biggest cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata (then called Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta respectively).

They also visited India’s most recognizable monument, the Taj Mahal, and were the guests of honor for India’s Republic Day Parade that year.

The first picture shows HM Queen Elizabeth II addressing a crowd of several thousand at Ramlila Grounds between New and Old Delhi. Loudspeakers on stands permeate the sea of faces listening to HM The Queen.

From left: Indira Gandhi (2), Vice President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (4), Queen Elizabeth II (5), President of India Dr, Rajendra Prasad (6), Prince Philip Husband of Queen (7), Vijaya Laxmi Pandit (8), Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru (9).

Though Britain and the empire emerged victorious from the Second World War, the effects of the conflict were profound, both at home and abroad. The “wind of change” ultimately meant that the British Empire’s days were numbered, and on the whole, Britain adopted a policy of peaceful disengagement from its colonies once stable, non-Communist governments were available to transfer power to.

This was in contrast to other European powers such as France and Portugal, which waged costly and ultimately unsuccessful wars to keep their empires intact. Between 1945 and 1965, the number of people under British rule outside the UK itself fell from 700 million to five million, three million of whom were in Hong Kong.

From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, independent India’s most important relationship was with Britain. New Delhi and London had special relations because of common historical ties, political institutions, interest in economic development, high levels of trade between India and Britain, and British investment in India.

Crowd greeting Queen Elizabeth during her visit to India.

Gardens at the presidential palace during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II.

Jawaharlal Nehru greeting Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Jawaharlal Nehru hosting Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II & Philip attending rally in their honor during their visit to India.

Queen Elizabeth II & Philip.

Indian people welcoming the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II at reception.

Queen Elizabeth II presented with a turbaned doll, a Girl Guide gift to her son Prince Andrew.

Queen Elizabeth II riding in carriage with Indian President Rajendra Prasad.

Visiting British monarch Queen Elizabeth II planting tree at Gandhi memorial.

Queen Elizabeth II riding on elephant, sitting beside maharaja in howdah.

From left: Indira Gandhi (1), Vice President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (2), Queen Elizabeth II (3), President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad (4), ?(5), Vijaya Laxmi Pandit (6).

(Photo credit: LIFE magazine).

Updated on: November 26, 2021

Any factual error or typo?  Let us know.

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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 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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Elizabeth, Last Empress of India

For many people, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother represented the very heart of Britain. Her steadfastness and dedication to Britain during the Second World War largely defines her legacy. However, she was also the Last Empress of India. 

Early Life 

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and second youngest child of a Scottish nobleman, Claude Bowes-Lyon and Cecelia Cavendish-Bentinck. She grew up at Glamis Castle and spent much of her child spending time outdoors with her ponies and dogs. (This love of the country would stay with her for the rest of her life.) On her 14th birthday, 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany and her life changed. Several of her older brothers served in the military, with one older brother killed in action and another taken as a Prisoner of War. Like many young people, Elizabeth’s life changed. 

Becoming the Duchess of York 

A vivacious and outgoing Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon caught the attention of the second son of the king, the Duke of York. He proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she initially refused the proposal. James Stuart, the Duke’s equerry, courted Elizabeth, but he left to take a job in America. The Duke proposed for a second time in 1922, but it wasn’t until his proposal in 1923 that she accepted. They married at Westminster Abbey on 26 April 1923, when she began the tradition of leaving the bridal bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

The Duke and Duchess had two daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose. They led a relatively quiet family life and would spend much of their time together as a family. However, the two princesses were separated from their parents during the Second World War when they were sent to life in safety at Windsor while their parents stayed in London. 

Becoming Queen and Empress 

After George V died in 1936, Edward VIII took the throne for a short nine months. Questionably suited to be king, he gave up the throne in favour of marrying the American Wallis Simpson. The Duke of York became King George VI, and the Duchess became Queen Elizabeth. In 1876, Queen Victoria became the first Empress of India. Under British control from 1858 to 1947, India was a large territory with several different cultural groups and languages. 

The Last Empress

Unfortunately, the Emperor and Empress were not able to visit India before it proclaimed independence in 1947. George relinquished his title as Emperor and became King of India and Elizabeth the Queen of India. At the same time as the establishment of the Commonwealth, India became a republic, and they lost those titles, as well. Their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, made her first visit to India in 1961.

Later Life 

The King passed away on 6 February 1952, when Elizabeth II ascended the throne. Queen Elizabeth became known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, a widow at aged 52. She would go on to live to the age of 101, passing away on 6 March 2002. Elizabeth continued to carry out official engagements and tours for her daughter for most of her widowhood and remained active and lively. The Castle of Mey was one of her passion projects in later life. She purchased it shortly after the King’s death in 1952 and set about restoring it to use as a holiday home. Guests can now stay on the property, and you can visit the castle if you find yourself in Caithness. 

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Jessica storoschuk, latest posts, the diamonds worn by diana, princess of wales on her wedding day, the emperor and empress of japan to make state visit to the uk, breaking: king charles to resume public engagements, the duke of edinburgh takes the lead during poignant anzac day service, never miss the latest, most popular, the queen watches on with pride as lady louise drives prince philip’s carriages at windsor horse show, an annus horribilis in monaco a difficult year for albert and charlene finally winds to an end, the duchess of cambridge wows tv audiences with a musical piano performance on christmas eve, latest blogs.

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