NEW DELHI, India -- Prince Charles and Lady Diana of Britain arrived Monday in India, the former jewel in the crown of the British Empire, on a six-day visit that will combine charity and business promotion with polo playing and sightseeing.
The prince and princess of Wales received a ceremonial greeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace, a vast 340-room complex occupying 320 acres that was constructed by the British in 1929 as the viceroy's house.
Mounted troops escorted the royal couple into the forecourt of the estate. Prince Charles reviewed a color guard and then greeted a group of dignitaries with Lady Diana, dressed in a red-orange flowered dress and a green hat after the colors of the Indian flag.
The couple later visited Raj Ghat to place a wreath at the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian apostle of non-violent protest and one of the leaders of the drive that resulted in India's independence from Britain in 1947.
Prince Charles later held talks with President Ramaswamy Venkataraman at the presidential palace. The meeting lasted 30 minutes, and the two discussed the situation in the subcontinent and in Europe, said an official of presidential palace.
The royal couple ended their first day in India with a dinner banquet hosted by Vice President Shankar Dayal Sharma, who called for international cooperation on global issues like drugs, terrorism and environment.
Prince Charles visited India last summer for the cremation of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated during national elections.
The royal couple were to travel Wednesday to the city of Jaipur, where they were to be guests of the maharaja and Prince Charles was to play at a polo match. Their trip also includes a stop in Hyderabad before reaching Calcutta, where they will visit Mother Teresa.
British influence in India began after the arrival of the East India Company in the 1600s. The company expanded its control and influence for several centuries until it dominated most of the country.
Britain abolished the company in 1858 and the country then came under direct rule of the government. India was known as the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, and the period of imperial rule in India is known as the British raj.
Prince Charles' grandfather, King George VI, was the last emperor. In serious financial condition following World War II and facing growing pressure to grant independence to India, the British government named Lord Mountbatten as the last viceroy and authorized him to negotiate the separation of India from Britain.
Unable to resolve a dispute between Muslims who wanted their own country and an Indian independence movement that demanded unity, Britain partitioned the subcontinent into Pakistan and India and granted both their freedom in 1947.
