Queen in Pakistan, 1961

Happy 70th Pakistan Independence Day! Every year on August 14th (15th for India), Pakistan celebrates Independence from Britain. Though the Queen hasn’t been Queen of Pakistan since 1956, we are covering some of the royal visits to Pakistan today, including the Queen’s State Visit to Pakistan in 1961 below-

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh landed in Karachi in February 1961, where they were welcomed by the Nawab (King) of Kalabagh (a family friend of my maternal great-grandparents), the then Governor of the then West Pakistan. They attended a series of welcome ceremonies, drove through Karachi in an open vehicle, visited the tomb of the founder of Pakistan,Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and then attended a garden party at Government House in Karachi. Click HERE and HERE to to read more about the Garden Party. In the evening, President Ayub Khan hosted a Banquet for the Queen (wearing the Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara and the Delhi Durbar Parure) and Duke.

Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The next stop was Peshawar and the North West Frontier, where the Queen and Duke visited the Khyber Pass and attended a Banquet at Government House in Peshawar, where the Queen wore Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The Queen and Duke also visited Lahore, where they attended a reception, a service at Lahore Cathedral, a fair, viewed a parade, visited the Shalimar Gardens, and the Badshahi Mosque. Click HERE to read more. They were also the guests of honour at an Army Dinner in Lahore, for which the Queen wore the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara.

Embed from Getty Images

The Queen and Duke also visited Dhaka, the capital of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), where the Queen attended a Banquet hosted by the Governor of East Pakistan wearing the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara.

Screen Shot 2017-08-09 at 8.14.51 PM

Leave a Reply