Former Indian Commissioner to UK recalls Queen Elizabeth's "Humble, down-to-earth" demeanour
Sep 09, 2022
By Ayushi Agarwal
New Delhi [India], September 9 : Former Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ruchi Ghanashyam recalled her meeting with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II after she breathed her last at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Recalling her memories with the Queen, the High Commissioner said that though she went through some really turbulent times still she remained committed to serving the people of her country and was one of the most recognized women in the world.
"I feel very sad and I know that people in the UK would be also very dejected about this great loss. She became queen at a very young age. In her 70 years, she went through some really turbulent times, but throughout her life, she remained committed to serving the people of her country. The people of the UK very highly regarded her sense of beauty", the Former High Commissioner said.
"She was amazingly humane. I realized this when I met her for the first time while presenting my papers to her in March 2019. She was so nice and warm, and simple. So, humble that you cannot remember that she is the monarch of a country. She was such a down-to-earth person and the thing which really struck me was how despite being the queen, she reached out to people at her garden party. In her 90s, she went around as if there was no tiredness for her, she stopped and shook hands with everybody and I think those were the qualities which really endured her to the people of her country", she added.
Ruchi Ghanshyam, who then took as only the second woman high commissioner of India since independence in 1947 in November, presented credentials to Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, in March 2019.
According to protocol, soon after arriving in London, a foreign ambassador or high commissioner has an audience with the queen in a formal ceremony in which letters of credence are presented.
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday.
King Charles will be officially proclaimed as Britain's new monarch at a meeting of the Accession Council at St James's Palace on September 10.
