The Queen was greeted by more than 500,000 people when she arrived in Uganda yesterday (21.11.07).
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Her Majesty and her husband Prince Philip were welcomed by one of the biggest turnouts for a royal visit in decades on her first trip to the east African country since 1954.
Well-wishers who lined the 25-mile route from the airport in Entebbe to the capital of Kampala cheered and sang as the royal couple drove past.
The spectators were so eager to catch a glimpse of the 81-year-old monarch they climbed onto rooftops and balconies for a better view.
One Ugandan citizen Elizabeth Njuba, 23, said: “I couldn’t wait to see her. I never got the chance before because I wasn’t born when she was last here. It’s been so exciting.”
Tomorrow (23.11.07), the Queen will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting attended by members of the 53-nation international organisation, which is mostly made up of British colonies, with the
exceptions of the United Kingdom itself and Mozambique.
The Queen’s son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will also attend the meeting in what is believed to be a bid to initiate Charles into the tasks he will take on should he become king.
It will be the first time the prince has been to a gathering of Commonwealth leaders held outside Britain.
