Returning after a six week 20,000 mile tour of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Iran, the Queen was celebrated in a ‘Royal Home-Coming Number’ on March 18, 1961
(Appendix List No. 163) which was, in effect,
a record of the Tour which had lasted from January 21 to March 6.
In India she rode an elephant at Ramnagar Fort, Benares; was entertained
by the Indian President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad in New Delhi; watched the
races at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club; passed through the Gateway of India
in Bombay and was given a traditional welcome at Bhankrota. In Pakistan
she was welcomed in Karachi by President Field Marshal Ayub Khan and visited
the Khyber Pass, the port of Chittagong, the Shalimar Gardens at Lahore
and the Malakand Pass.
In Nepal the royal couple was greeted by King Mahendra in Katmandu and
attended a lavish tiger and rhinoceros hunt. In Iran they saw the splendours
of Isfahan, Shiraz and Persepolis in the company of the Shah of Persia
and Queen Farah. A final section of the magazine details the Queen’s
return home which culminated in the Guildhall luncheon given to her by
the City of London on March 10.
The coloured cover depicts Britannia in a bright red cloak standing on
the cliffs of Dover welcoming the royal ‘Britannia’ aircraft.
This is issue number 6346, vol. 239 pages 417-480, measuring 37 x 26 cm
and priced at four shillings.