Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Britain's longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 99 on April 9.
The death of the Greek prince was mourned by people and leaders from across the world, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tweeted:My thoughts are with the British people and the Royal Family on the passing away of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He had a distinguished career in the military and was at the forefront of many community service initiatives. May his soul rest in peace.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 9, 2021
India, which was considered the erstwhile expansive British empire’s ‘jewel in the Crown’, continued to hold a special place even in the post-colonial era. The royal couple made several visits to its former colony after India became independent.
On January 21, 1959, India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru welcomed Prince Philip to New Delhi, who was then on a round-the-world-tour. Thereafter, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had made three visits to India – one in 1961, one in 1983 and another in 1997.
During their 1961 visit to India, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Bombay (now Mumbai), Madras (now Chennai), Jaipur, Agra and Calcutta (now Kolkata). The Maharaja of Jaipur had even organised a tiger hunting session for the royals. They were also the guests of honour at the Republic Day parade.
While people swarmed to catch a glimpse of the British royalty in Madras, a holiday had been announced in Bangalore. In Calcutta and Bombay, Prince Philip attended horse races; he also visited the Taj Mahal.
The royal couple visited India next in 1983, when Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi was the prime minister. They had stayed in the guest wing of the Rashtrapati Bhavan – which, the British Viceroy, would earlier call home.
The Queen and her husband last visited the nation in 1997 to mark India's 50th Independence Day. They visited Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to honour the lives lost in the massacre that unfolded in 1919 under General Dyer’s aegis. This visit, however, turned sour after the British Foreign Secretary commented on the Kashmir dispute. Britain's interference was snubbed by then prime minister IK Gujral, who called it a “third rate political power”.