Queen Elizabeth II’s special connection with India
Sep 9, 2022
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Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died at age 96
Britain's longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at England’s Balmoral at the age of 96.
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The Queen ruled for 70 long years
The Queen ruled Britain for 70 years following her father King George VI’s sudden death in 1953.
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The Queen made three visits to India in her lifetime
The late Queen Elizabeth II has visited India three times – in 1961, 1983 and 1997, each time accompanied by her husband and Duke of Edinburgh, the late Prince Philip. Her first visit came nearly 15 years after India's independence.
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First visit in 1961
Her first visit was in 1961 with her husband where they toured Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. She paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in New Delhi.
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Second India visit in 1983
India’s President Giani Zail Singh invited the royal couple and hosted them in the prestigious Rashtrapati Bhavan. During her visit, the Queen honoured Mother Teresa for her contribution to society with an Order of Merit.
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Third and last visit to India in 1997
On her third visit to commemorate India’s 50th Independence Day, she spoke about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. “It is no secret that there have been some difficult episodes in our past. Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example,” said the Queen which later led to many protests in the country.
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Visited sets of Kamal Hassan's film in Chennai
During her third visit, she also visited the sets of actor Kamal Hassan's film Marudhanayagam at MGR film city in Chennai where she spent almost 20 minutes.
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PM Modi recollects meeting Queen Elizabeth II
In a tweet where he paid tribute to the Queen, he recalled his memorable meetings during his visits to Britain in 2015 and 2018.
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PM Modi recollects meeting Queen Elizabeth II
“During one of the meetings she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding. I will always cherish that gesture,” he tweeted.
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