Times when Queen Elizabeth II visited India

Edited by: Divya Thearia

September 9, 2022 (New Delhi): Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. According to the Royal Family, the queen died peacefully after as she was ill from past few days. Soon after the news emerged, tributes and condolences began to stream from all over the world, including all world leaders. Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled the United Kingdom for six decades, travelled to every corner of the globe as a monarch. Her official visits to India, however, have been the most memorable. Among other notable stops on her tour were the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple in Jaipur, and Mumbai’s Gateway of India.

Ist visit to India in 1961

Her first state visit as Britain’s Queen was in 1961, when she travelled to Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata with her husband, the late Prince Phillip, and visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. She also paid respect to Mahatma Gandhi at New Delhi’s Raj Ghat.

The Queen addressed a big throng at Delhi’s Ramlila arena, dressed in her distinctive fur coat and bonnet. At the invitation of then-President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the royal couple visited India as Guests of Honour during the Republic Day Parade.

2nd visit to India in 1983

Her visit coincided with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 1983, when she memorably bestowed an honorary Order of the Merit on Mother Teresa.

3rd visit to India in 1997

Her third visit was notable because it was the first time she mentioned “tough moments” of colonial history, like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
“It is no secret that we have had some tough incidents in our past, and Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” the monarch said during her banquet speech.
Later, the Queen and her husband visited the massacre site to lay a wreath at the memorial.