Queen Elizabeth II Welcomes Pratibha Patil

India’s President, Pratibha Patil, began her state visit to the United Kingdom Tuesday, and Queen Elizabeth II welcomed her with pomp and pageantry.

AP Photo/Chris Jackson, pool

Patil first was welcomed to the country at Heathrow airport by several British dignitaries. But her real greeting came when she arrived at Windsor Castle outside London. There, she met with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip who had an entire military guard on hand to welcome the first Indian head of state to visit the UK in 20 years.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were also in attendance for the ceremony. They had traveled with Patil from Heathrow to Windsor in a car fleet.

Tonight, there will be a banquet in Patil’s honor. On Wednesday, she will meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown for talks. They will discuss ways to strengthen ties between the two nations which already have strong relations.

“Apart from the growing trade and economic relations, India and Britain cooperate well in a number of areas including education, research, science and technology,” foreign secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters last week.

Patil is also in the UK for the beginning of the Commonwealth Games baton relay race, which will start at Buckingham Palace and end in India.

She is also only the fourth female head of state to go on a state visit to the UK. The other three were all monarchs: Queens Juliana and Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.