WINDHOEK, Namibia -- Queen Elizabeth II of England arrived Tuesday in Namibia on her first ever trip to the youngest member of the Commonwealth, the only one of 50 ex-colonies the queen had never visited.
The queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh were greeted at Windhoek International Airport by airport Namibia's new president, Sam Nujoma and his wife, Kovambo Nujoma, who formally introduced the royal couple to the Namibian cabinet on the tarmac.
Namibia celebrated its independence from South Africa in March last year but was formerly a part of the British Empire, governed from Cape Town since 1915.
Namibian troops fired a 21-gun salute in the queen's honor and children performed traditional ceremonial dances for the British monarch to the beat of Namibian drums.
The capital Windhoek was a sea of Union Jacks -- the British flag -- as thousands lined the streets in the hot Namibian afternoon to cheer the queen, who rode in an open car down the city's main Independence Avenue.
Nujoma was due to host a state banquet Tuesday night ahead of a royal outing Wednesday to Ondangwa, 345 miles north of the capital where plans were afoot Tuesday to produce the town's entire population to greet the queen and line the route to Oshakati, 18 miles to the west.
Wednesday afternoon the queen was due to present prizes at Windhoek's agricultural show. She flies to Zimbabwe Thursday.
