Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles took a break from their official engagements in India on Monday to attend a private banquet at Patiala’s Motibagh Palace, hosted by Punjab’s former chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and his wife, Union minister of state for external affairs Preneet Kaur.
On their second visit to the erstwhile princely state since 2006, the royal couple and their accompanying entourage were treated to an enthralling evening on Motibagh’s lawns amidst guests that included local politicians, senior bureaucrats, writers and a sprinkling of India’s own royals. The 160 guests included only personal friends of Capt. Singh and Ms Kaur.
Motibagh itself, swathed in brilliant tungsten lighting, made the backdrop, as the Indian Army Sikh Regiment band played carefully selected melodies to greet the Prince of Wales and his wife as they descended the wide stone stairway from the palace into the garden.
Familiar tunes included Swagatam (first written and performed by Army bands during the Asian Games of 1982), Bole So Nihaal and of course, Colonel Bogey’s March. And in centuries-old military tradition, Prince Charles shook the bandmaster’s hand and gifted him a case of “good Indian rum”.
Dinner, arranged an exquisite, air conditioned tent, included Indian and continental delicacies some of which were based on old recipes from Patiala’s royal kitchens.
While this was Prince Charles and his wife’s second visit, the last Prince of Wales to come to Patiala was his great-uncle Edward (later Edward VIII), who stayed at Patiala’s old Motibagh Palace (now the National Institute of Sports) in 1922.