London: In a signal honour to India, Queen Elizabeth II hosted a luncheon banquet in Buckingham Palace for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the second day of his three-day visit to Britain.
“In a special gesture usually reserved for Heads of State, the Queen hosted PM @narendramodi for a luncheon banquet,” Vikas Swarup, external affairs ministry spokesperson, tweeted.
The queen earlier received Modi when he arrived at Buckingham Palace after attending a meeting of the UK-India CEOs' Forum.
“Her Majesty The Queen with PM @narendramodi at Buckingham Palace,” PMO India earlier tweeted.
A photograph showing Modi in conversation with the British monarch inside Buckingham Palace was also attached to the tweet. Modi was wearing a white kurta-pyjama with a maroon Nehru jacket.
After lunch, the queen showed the visiting prime minister a display of artefacts from the Royal Collection.
“After lunch, The Queen showed PM @narendramodi a display of artefacts from #RoyalCollection #ModiInUK,” BritishMonarchy tweeted along with a picture of the two.
Modi began Friday by continuing bilateral parleys with Britsh Prime Minister Cameron at the Chequers, the countryside retreat of the British prime minister. Modi was hosted by Cameron to a private dinner on Thursday at the Chequers and spent the night there.
Later on Friday evening, Modi will address around 60,000 people of Indian origin at the iconic Wembley Stadium here.
This will be followed by a reception in his honour by India's High Commissioner to Britain, Ranjan Mathai.