A brief look at the past visits of British royals to Pakistan

"I feel at home in Karachi as we share the same culture and understand each other well," Queen said.

LAHORE (Dunya News) - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, has arrived in Pakistan on a five-day royal tour from Oct 14 to 18 as they are "looking forward to building a lasting friendship with the people of Pakistan."

According to High Commissioner in Pakistan Thomas Drew, the royal couple will tour the ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ of Pakistan, same as their predecessors, William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II; his mother Princess Diana; and father Prince Charles, did.

Thomas Drew expressed, “"I have always been struck by the warmth in Pakistan towards the royal family, and the fond memories of previous visits”.

Dunya News presents the timeline of British royalty who visited Pakistan in the past.

1961: Queen Elizabeth’s first step in the region

Queen Elizabeth, 34 at the time, embarked on a royal tour along with her husband, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, of Asian countries in 1961 which included Pakistan, India, Iran and Nepal. Your Majesty s visit lasted from February 1 to 16 in which she visited various cities like Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and the northern areas of Pakistan.

Karachi

Her first stop was Karachi where she arrived at 11:37am on February 1. The royal couple was warmly welcomed by the then president, Mohammad Ayub Khan.

Your Highness was honored with a 21-gun royal salute where the terminal was crowded to catch the glimpse of British royal couple.

The anthems of both countries were played by the navy and another 100-man royal salute was given as the royal couple graced the carpeted dias with president Khan.

The monarchs stayed at the presidential residence until they departed for Peshawar on Feb 4.

They conducted numerous engagements including visiting Quaid’s mausoleum, Korangi Township and a marvelous state banquet by the president Khan.

Quetta

Queen arrived in Peshawar on Feb 4 and steered towards Quetta as their planned tour. Their visit was effected by heavy snowfall but continued again as the weather cleared.

Queen Elizabeth stayed at the Quetta Residency where she planted a pine sapling, the same place where her grandfather, King George V had planted a chinar sapling, 56 years prior to her visit to Pakistan.

During their brief visit to the Balochistan capital, the Duke and Your Highness were also gifted two sheep each by Sardar Mohammad Khan Jogezai, a senior Pathan leader, and Sardar Khair Bux Khan Marri, a senior Baloch leader. It portrayed the long-held custom by the province for executive guests.

The Queen and the Duke then flew back to Peshawar that evening.

Peshawar

In Peshawar, the Queen and the Duke were invited to a banquet at the Government House by the then governor of West Pakistan, Malik Amir Mohammad Khan, which was attended by 80 eminent members of society.

The Queen paid a visit to the Peshawar University, Khyber Pass, Pak-Afghan border point Torkham, and Landi Kotal during her visit.

She lunched at the mess of Khyber Rifles and later visited the multipurpose Warsak dam.

Lahore

The British royal couple witnessed a long weekend of festivities in Lahore, and they also visited Iqbal’s tomb, the Lahore fort, the Shalimar Gardensm the Badshahi Mosque and various places along with a luncheon hosted by the Army in their honor.

Prince Philip was also treated to a game of polo and the two took part in the national horse show, a nod to the Queen’s love for horses and the Duke’s interest in polo.

1991: Diana refashions the royal visit to Pakistan

Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, toured Pakistan on Sept. 23, 1991 on her first official solo visit. Her autobiographer, Andrew Morton, described her tour as having a lot riding on four-day visit to the region.

“Before she left I remember her saying how nervous she was, knowing that some courtiers inside the Palace were keen to see her fall flat on her face,” a report by Royal Central quoted him as saying.

The Princess was graced with a banquet in her honor by the former premier Nawaz Sharif at Prime Minister House.

Lady Diana expressed hope that the close ties between Britain and Pakistan "will continue to flourish" and expressed happiness on behalf of Britain for Pakistan having joined the Commonwealth after an absence of 17 years.

The royal woman met with the then president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, and discussed matters of shared interest along with a dinner hosted by the First Lady of Pakistan at the Aiwan-e-Sadar.

In a busy six-hour visit to Lahore, she visited the Kinnaird College straight from the airport, followed by a visit to the century-old King Edward Medical College. She also visited the Millat Tractor Factory, where she inaugurated a new assembly plant, the mazar of Allama Iqbal, Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort.

Her next stop was Chitral where she saw a programme of traditional folk dances, including the famous Kafir Kalash and attended a reception hosted in her honour by the chief minister.

1996: Princess of Wales once again enters Pakistan

The Queen of hearts once again embarked on a voyage to Pakistan from Feb 20-22, 1996, on the invitation of Imran Khan to raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. Lady Diana came this time with some company including the mother-in-law of Imran Khan, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, mother of Jemima Khan and her cousin, Cosima Somerset, as well.

Imran Khan and Jemima received Your Highness on the eve of Feb 20 at Islamabad airport. That evening she had dinner at a restaurant in Lahore’s Gulberg area with Khan’s family and close friends.

The next day, Diana visited the hospital to oversee its facilities and engage with the doctors and patients there. She also attended an Eid Milan party at the hospital.

She also attended a fundraising dinner in Lahore’s Gulberg area, which raised a hefty amount of Rs2.5 million.

According to Kensington Palace, her official residence, the visit was part of her continuing interest and concern for the sick and those neglected by society.

She remained a guest of Imran Khan’s during her stay. Owing to the personal nature of her visit, she did not attend any official function. She was, however, provided security by the government.

However, a hospital statement issued said: "Lady Diana has agreed on a private visit to the hospital to meet children with cancer and lend her support to the charity. There’s absolutely no political aspect to her visit and the media attempt to create a scandal is both unfair and unwarranted."

1997: Diana’s last journey to visit

The Princess of Wales visited Pakistan for third and last time in May 1997 to launch an endowment fund appeal for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

Jemima Khan and her son Suleman Isa Khan received Lady Diana on the morning of May 22 in Lahore and was also greeted by then provincial education minister Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal.

Your Highness stayed at Zaman Part residence of Imran Khan during her third visit. She attended a luncheon hosted by the hospital management where around 55 senior doctors and officials were also present.

The appeal was launched at a ceremony the next evening presided over by the chief minister of Punjab at the time, Shehbaz Sharif. The event was followed by a fundraising dinner.

Diana left for London the day after her final journey to Pakistan. She passed away in a car crash in Paris just three months later.

1997: Your Majesty arrives on Pakistan’s 50th anniversary

Queen Elizabeth came to Pakistan after a span of three and a half decades, 36 years. Nawaz Sharif was ruling as the prime minister of Pakistan with Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari as the president.

Her visit commenced on Oct. 7 with her husband, Prince Philip, for just six days.

According to a royal press release at the time, the couple arrived at Chaklala, Islamabad, where a 21-gun salute was sounded as they emerged from the plane. The Queen and the Duke were received by the then foreign minister, Gohar Ayub Khan.

Your Highness inaugurated a new commercial block at the British High Commission, "a manifestation of the desire of the British government to further promote its commercial and economic relations with Pakistan", according to the Queen’s Press Secretary, Geoffrey Crawford, who briefed Pakistani and foreign newsmen a day in advance of their arrival.

Later in the day, the royal couple attended a reception for media representatives at the High Commission.

On that eve, president Leghari hosted a royal banquet for the royal couple at the Presidential Palace. The Queen was conferred the highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, and the Duke was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz at the ceremony.

She was conferred with it for strengthening ties between Pakistan and Britain and holding on the commitment to problems developing nations of the Commonwealth faced.

Leghari and Sharif were also awarded in turn with the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG), respectively.

According to a local news agency, speaking at the banquet, Queen Elizabeth said Pakistan and the United Kingdom enjoyed a truly rich relationship, founded on a myriad of personal as well as institutional commitments. "I am confident in its future, and wish Pakistan well in its next fifty years."

She also paid tribute to Princess Diana’s humanitarian work during her visits to Pakistan and thanked the people for their sympathetic response to her death.

"It brings friends of both countries only pleasure to see the commitment both have made this year to solve contentious issues through talks. Reconciliation will take time but the effort must be made," the Queen said in her address to the joint session of parliament for India and Pakistan’s never-ending feud.

Over the course of their visit, the royal couple also visited Karachi where they attended a reception at the Governor House, followed by a lunch hosted by the governor of Sindh. The Queen inaugurated a British Trade Exhibition at a local hotel and the Duke opened a $450 million ICI plant at Port Bin Qasim.

"I feel at home in Karachi as we share the same culture and understand each other well," the Queen said.

After the laying of wreaths at the Quaid’s mausoleum, the two departed for Lahore, where they were hosted by prime minister Sharif, who gave a grand banquet in their honour at the Lahore Fort.

2006: Prince Charles pays visit to quake-rattled nation

Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla Parker, the Duchess of Cornwall, were the next British royals to tour Pakistan, from October 29-November 3 in 2006.

Upon their arrival at the Chaklala Airbase, the royal couple was welcomed by the then federal minister for women’s development and youth affairs, Sumaira Malik, along with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Dr Maleeha Lodhi, UK High Commissioner to Pakistan Mark Lyall Grant and other senior officials.

The British royal met with then president Pervez Musharraf and his wife Sehba Musharraf at the presidency along with meeting with then PM Shaukat Aziz and his wife, Rukhsana Aziz at the PM’s residence.

Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla also attended the launch of the Prince’s Youth Business International (YBI) scheme for Pakistan, which aimed to help disadvantaged young people in Pakistan become entrepreneurs, held at the prime minister’s residence. There, the couple interacted with some youth, saw local products and listened to pop songs in a performance by singers Hadiqa Kiani and Shehzad Roy.

“For my wife and I, it really is greatest possible joy to be here with you in Pakistan,” said the Prince on the occasion. “It has taken me very nearly 58 years to reach you and it’s not from want of trying, I can tell you.”

That evening, the couple attended a reception hosted by the British High Commissioner at the time, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, at the prime minister’s residence.

British couples’ visit to Peshawar due to take place the next day, October 31, was terminated due to security concerns following an explosion in Bajaur.

They also attended a banquet hosted by Musharraf and his wife at the presidency.

The next day, the imperial couple visited Lahore, where they laid a wreath at the tomb of Allama Iqbal and furthermore went to the Badshahi Mosque. The regal couple at that point visited the Gurdwara of Arjan Dev and the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh where they conversed with individuals from the Sikh people group.

Later in the day, they went to the Lahore Cathedral where they met Anglican people group. They were additionally visitors at a nursery gathering facilitated by the city s Bishop, Dr Alexander John Malik.

Dinner, that evening, was hosted by then prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

On the ending day of their tour, November 3, the royal couple made a ride to Hunza, where they visited the Altit town to analyze the improvement work being done by the Aga Khan Development Network.

Joined by the Aga Khan — who as of late facilitated Prince William and Kate in London — Charles and Camilla likewise visited the Nangtsoq town in Skardu. There, they blended with the villagers and communicated their enthusiasm for their conventional method for living.

They got the chance to visit a few houses and talk to locals occupied in their normal routine.

The royal couple were informed about the civilization, customs and culture of the people of Baltistan. They also sampled some food at a Balti food stall.

Now, Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton are going to visit Pakistan for the first time, keeping the historical ties between the UK and Pakistan alive.