Queen Elizabeth Welcomes President of India

The State Visit to the UK of the President of India Pratibha Patil kicked off today with an official welcome by Queen Elizabeth.

The arrival ceremony included a carriage procession through the streets of Windsor, ending at Windsor Castle. There, Prince Philip accompanied President Patil in inspecting the Honor Guard. After the welcome ceremony, Queen Elizabeth  hosted a private lunch for President Patil. Prin ce Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were also present at the welcome ceremony.

In the evening, the Queen hosted a State Banquet at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Hall. Of course, for such formal events like this, the Queen wears a tiara. This time, it’s the Burmese Ruby Tiara, a dazzling array of rubies and diamonds set to imitate a wreath of roses. The tiara is named for the rubies which were given as a wedding present to the Queen from the people of Burma.

Here are a couple of photos of the magnificent carriage procession through Windsor today:

images: Fame Pictures (top 3 photos); Zuma Press (bottom two)