Priest who handled protocol for Queen’s visit to church recalls 1983

Hyderabad: Rev Dr. Bandari Prabhakar Rao, who was responsible for the protocol and the arrangements for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the Holy Trinity Church, Bolaram, has some memories of the event that happened nearly 40 years ago. Recalling that Queen Victoria funded the construction of the Holy Trinity Church from her personal purse in […]

Hyderabad: Rev Dr. Bandari Prabhakar Rao, who was responsible for the protocol and the arrangements for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the Holy Trinity Church, Bolaram, has some memories of the event that happened nearly 40 years ago.

Recalling that Queen Victoria funded the construction of the Holy Trinity Church from her personal purse in 1847, he said the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the church was ‘an event reconnecting us with her great grandmother Queen Victoria, the donor of the church’.

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“It was an honour bestowed on Medak Diocese by the British High Commission, New Delhi by requesting us to arrange for the Queen to attend the Sunday Service. Her 36th wedding anniversary coincided with the Sunday Service. The Queen would never miss a Sunday Service wherever she may be,” he remembers.

“I was responsible for the Protocol and the arrangements for her visit and was regularly in touch with the British High Commission and the State Government,” he adds..

There were some incidents that he still remembers. “I informed the High Commissioner, that Daisy Premasagar, the Bishop’ s wife would receive the Queen at the Church, to which he replied that the Queen is received at the Church by the clergy and not lay persons. But I insisted as per Indian tradition, a lady would be received by a lady. He finally consented to my suggestion, breaking the Protocol,” he says, adding that his request for a group photo of the clergy with the Queen was not accepted, though he was told that he could get a picture clicked ‘as she moved around’.

Gerard Carr, former media manager for the Hyderabad Cricket Association, also recalls having heard about the visit, and says the event is something Hyderabadis should cherish.

“Though I was not there that day at the church, as a Hyderabadi, I’m proud that she chose to visit our city and celebrate her wedding anniversary here,” he said.