India's First Lady given ceremonial welcome by Britain's Queen

Oct 27, 2009, 14:28 GMT

London - India's President Pratibha Patil was given a full ceremonial welcome by Queen Elizabeth II at the start of her three-day state visit to Britain Tuesday.

British pomp and pageantry was on display as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh greeted India's first female president and her husband, Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, in the town of Windsor, near London.

Hundreds of well-wishers looked on as the royal carriage passed through the streets of Windsor, accompanied by a thunderous royal salute fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery outside Windsor Castle.

Earlier, Patil and her husband had travelled from London in a fleet of cars in the company of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The flags of India and Britain were hung from a succession of lamp posts in the town and some of the route was lined by guardsmen, in their scarlet tunics and bearskins.

A guard of honour made up of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards was waiting in the castle's quadrangle to be inspected by the India head of state.

The diminutive, 75-year-old Indian president, who wore a sari and cream coloured overcoat, was dwarfed by the guardsmen as she inspected the troops.

As guests of the Queen, Patil and her husband will stay at Windsor Castle, the British monarch's royal residence outside London, for the duration of their visit.

Patil is due to travel to London Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

British officials have stressed the importance of relations with India, not only on business affairs, but also on issues such as counter-terrorism, climate change and the reform of international global systems.

The trip would highlight the issues of business and investment for British and Indian companies, and the close cultural ties between India and Britain, where up to 2 million people of Indian origin live.