Coronation of King Charles III: VP Dhankhar lands in London, will attend Commonwealth Day reception today
May 05, 2023
By Sushil Batra
London [United Kingdom], May 5 : Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his spouse Dr Sudesh Dhankhar on Friday landed at London Stansted Airport for a two-day visit here, to attend the Coronation ceremony of King Charles III.
Dhankhar is scheduled to attend Commonwealth Reception and will meet and greet Charles III on Friday here.
On Friday evening, Vice President Dhankhar will also attend the reception at Buckingham Palace and will mingle with other dignitaries. The Vice President is accompanied by his spouse Dr Sudesh Dhankhar during the UK visit.
The Coronation ceremony of King Charles III will take place on Saturday morning, May 6.
During his 2-day visit to the United Kingdom, Dhankhar will, on Saturday, join a gathering of about 2,000 dignitaries, including heads of state and government, at the coronation ceremony.
The United Kingdom (UK) extended an invitation recently to the international community, including India to attend the Coronation ceremony.
In the UK, Unitary democracy is governed within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch (now King) is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of the government.
On May 2, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis called on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to discuss preparations for the Coronation ceremony of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey.
"Honour to call on the Vice President before he attends the Coronation - a momentous occasion and an opportunity to further deepen UK-India ties," the British High Commissioner tweeted.
The Coronation of King Charles III will take place at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday, (May 6). The event will mark almost seven decades since the last coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
According to the royal family, in the morning of the Coronation, King Charles III and Camilla will travel from Buckingham Palace in the King's procession to Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach - which was created in 2012 for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
There will be two processions through the streets of the British capital on coronation day - one taking the King to be crowned and a larger parade back to Buckingham Palace after the historic service, where the monarch and members of the royal family will make a balcony appearance, as per a CNN report
The coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey in London.
India and UK have a historic relationship and share values of democracy, the rule of law and many complementarities and convergences. The relationship was elevated to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021 with the adoption of Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations.
In September, last year, President Droupadi Murmu visited London, United Kingdom (UK) to attend the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and offered condolences.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2022 met his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak in Bali on the sidelines of G20 Summit and carried out discussions to boost trade between the two countries.
