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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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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)

By Huzan Tata

By Nupur Sarvaiya

By Vogue Staff

By Ana Morales

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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 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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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

• Royal Family

A Brief History of British Royal Visits to India

P rince William and Princess Kate, will touch down in Mumbai on Sunday to begin their first visit to India, a weeklong trip that will also include a brief detour to the neighboring kingdom of Bhutan.

While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — as the royal couple are also styled — have said they look forward to “creating some new memories” during the highly symbolic sojourn, their visit is not without precedent.

Here’s a look at previous visits by members of the British royal family to a nation that, until 1947, was the jewel in the crown of the British empire.

1. Queen Elizabeth II The first monarch to be crowned after India’s independence from British colonial rule, the Queen has 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.

A second visit in 1983 for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was followed by a remarkably contentious trip in 1997. Meant to mark 50 years of India’s independence, the tour quickly soured over a series of gaffes, including controversial remarks over the disputed region of Kashmir by then British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook — which reportedly prompted Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujral to call Britain a “third-rate” power. There was also a wreath-laying ceremony at the site of an infamous massacre by British colonial soldiers.

The Queen has not visited India since.

2. Princess Diana A darling of the public eye, Prince William’s mother’s 1992 visit to the South Asian nation with her husband Prince Charles was treated with much fanfare. Visits to multiple schools showcased her well-documented ability to bond with young children, and resulted in some touching photographs .

The most memorable image from the trip, however, was recorded — yet again — at the Taj Mahal. Diana visited the famous structure alone while Charles addressed a gathering in Bangalore, adding fuel to already-swirling rumors that their marriage was in trouble. The rumors would turn out to be true, as the royal couple announced their separation later that year. The photograph of Diana, seated in front of the Taj, has become one of the most iconic images captured at the monument.

3. Prince Charles The Prince of Wales is a known Indophile, having visited the country eight times beginning in 1975. He famously proclaimed, at the Taj Mahal during his second trip to India in 1980, when he was a bachelor, that he would one day return there with his wife. That prophecy was not fulfilled with Diana but with his second wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, on his last visit three years ago.

He has also made two official visits on behalf of the Queen — in 1991 for the funeral of assassinated Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and in 2010 to inaugurate that year’s edition of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

William and Kate will follow in the footsteps of William’s parents and grandparents, with a visit to the Taj Mahal on April 16. They will also visit the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi, as well as the Kaziranga National Park wildlife sanctuary.

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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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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 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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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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‘There hasn’t been closure’: India mourns Queen but awaits apology

In largest Commonwealth country, personal affection for Elizabeth II mingles with need for recognition of British colonial atrocities

O ver the course of her seven-decade reign, Queen Elizabeth II made three visits to India, a country she would herald for its “richness and diversity”. But it was her third and final trip in 1997 that is often considered the most significant.

India was celebrating 50 years of independence and on the Queen’s itinerary was a visit to Jallianwala Bagh, the site in the city of Amritsar where in 1919 a British general ordered thousands of peaceful protesters to be shot, a massacre that was one of the bloodiest episodes of British colonial rule over India . The hope among many was that the Queen’s visit would finally bring about a long-awaited apology for colonial atrocities. But in the end, the apology never came.

“It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past,” said the Queen in her address the night before her visit. “Jallianwala Bagh, which I shall visit tomorrow, is a distressing example. But history cannot be rewritten, however much we might sometimes wish otherwise.”

When Queen Elizabeth was born in 1926, her grandfather was still the Emperor of India, which was under British rule for 200 years, but by the time she ascended to the throne in 1952, India had been independent for five years. At her wedding to Philip Mountbatten in 1947, the Queen was given a handkerchief by India’s best known freedom campaigner, Mahatma Gandhi, and it was said to remain one of her most treasured possessions.

The somewhat muted response to the Queen’s death in India reflects her complex position in a nation where the British monarchy is still seen as a lasting symbol of colonial rule that pillaged its lands for 200 years. India’s last viceroy before independence was the Queen’s distant cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten – also Prince Philip’s uncle – who oversaw the bloody partitioning of the country into the separate nations of India and Pakistan.

India remains the largest country in the Commonwealth, which is largely made up of former British territories and is still formally headed by the British monarch. After news of the Queen’s death broke, a national day of mourning was declared and all flags were lowered to half-mast.

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered as a stalwart of our times,” tweeted India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. “She provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people. She personified dignity and decency in public life. Pained by her demise.”

But though multiple Bollywood stars sent effusive condolences over the Queen’s death on social media, there was otherwise little public outpouring of grief.

Jyoti Atwal, a professor of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, said that in India, the institution of the monarchy was still lambasted as a symbol of British rule. Hours before the death of the Queen was announced, Modi oversaw the renaming of Rajpath, a central avenue in Delhi that during the colonial period had been named in honour of King George V, Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather. Modi said Rajpath was a “symbol of slavery”, which would now be erased.

However, Atwal said that on a personal level, the Queen’s visits to India, particularly her first in 1961, had earned her much affection and admiration – many people can still recall watching her riding through the streets of Delhi in her royal coach buggy.

“The Queen represented the oppression of British rule and colonialism, but she was also viewed separately as a person, not just as a monarch, and people in India were very charmed by her visits, by that buggy culture,” said Atwal. “My mother still remembers the Queen’s visit in 1961; she was a child sitting in the front row when the Queen was travelling in the buggy. So it captured the public imagination even though it was clearly a remnant of the British Raj.”

Nonetheless, Atwal said, as the furore around the Queen’s visit to Jallianwala Bagh had demonstrated, in India there was a lasting expectation that the British monarchy should apologise for the injustices of colonial rule, which some view as an essential part of the process of decolonisation.

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“There are large sections in India who still wanted an apology from the Queen and who still think there hasn’t been closure for the oppression of the Raj,” said Atwal. “The burden of giving that apology falls on the monarchy, not the prime minister or another member of the British government. So now that Charles is King, people in India will be expecting the apology from him.”

Since the the Queen’s death, there have also been calls for the return of the Koh-I-Noor diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, which sits in the crown of the Queen Mother and is on display at the Tower of London. The diamond, which was mined in India, has been the source of a decades-long dispute between India and the UK, with India saying it was taken illegally.

Over the weekend, the Indian MP and author Shashi Tharoor called its display in London a “powerful reminder of the injustices perpetrated by the former imperial power”. It is thought the crown bearing the Koh-i-Noor diamond will now be worn by King Charles’s wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort.

“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,” said Tharoor.

Nonetheless, in India’s financial hub of Mumbai, one community made a heartfelt tribute to the Queen. Years ago, the city’s famed dabbawala s, who deliver hot food from homes to workplaces in tiffin boxes, caught the attention of the royal family, and two dabbawalas were invited to the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla in 2005, where they breakfasted twice with the Queen.

“We share the grief of the family of King Charles,” said the Mumbai Dabbawala Association in a statement. “We are very sad to hear about the death of Queen Elizabeth II and all dabbawala s pray that her soul rests in peace.”

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