At age 96, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away. She ruled for seventy years. The Queen had reduced her travels due to age-related mobility problems, including this week’s appointment of new Prime Minister Liz Truss in Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne in 1952, shortly after India gained independence from colonial authority. Throughout her tenure, she made three State Visits to India: in 1961, 1983, and 1997. Her first trip to India, which took place after 15 years of country’s independence, received the most attention.

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The Queen’s first visit to India in 1961:

In 1961, the late Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the Queen travelled to Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. On the invitation of the then-President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, they attended the Republic Day Parade as guests of honour. The memorable trip was captured in the photographs and the Queen also addressed the Indian audience.

During her visit, she officially opened the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and she also went to Rajghat and paid a tribute at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial. Before entering the memorial area, the Queen and her husband removed their shoes and put on velvet slippers.

According to rare archival documents of the royal trip, the Queen received an artistic model of the Qutub Minar, a 12th-century minaret, while the Duke of Edinburgh received a silver candelabra.

During the second trip in 1983, the royal couple stayed in the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s newly renovated wing. The Queen awarded Mother Teresa with an honorary Order of the Merit.

During her last visit to India, which coincided with the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations, she spoke about “tough events” of colonial history for the first time.

The Queen said in her speech at the feast, “It is no secret that there have been some unpleasant incidents in our past, of which Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example”.

Later, after widespread calls for an apology for the thousands of people massacred under the command of a British General during the Raj era, she and her husband visited the site of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar to lay a wreath at the memorial.

Queen Honored the Presidents of India:

Three Indian presidents have also been honored by the Queen over the years: Dr. Radhakrishnan in 1963, in 1990, R. Venkataraman, and in 2009, Pratibha Patil.

The Queen stated in her State Banquet address for President Patil at Buckingham Palace that  Britain and India have a long shared history that is now a source of great strength in creating a fresh partnership suited for the future.