Kamaraj was not the only person who had the honour to sit in front of the Queen Elizabeth-II
In the context of Queen Elizabeth-II’s demise, a photo of Indian independence activist & former CM of Madras state K. Kamaraj with Queen Elizabeth-II is being widely shared claiming that Kamaraj was the only person who had the honour of sitting in front of the Queen. The photo shows Queen Elizabeth-II cutting the cake with Kamaraj and Prince Philip sitting beside her. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Indian independence activist & former CM of Madras state Kamaraj was the only person who had the honour of sitting infront of Queen Elizabeth-II.
Fact: According to The Hindu, this photo was captured during Queen’s visit to Chennai on 19 February 1961. Another photograph from the same event shows several other dignitaries sitting on the either side of the Queen while she was cutting the cake for her child’s first birthday. Also, there are many pictures and videos that show people sitting in the Queen’s presence. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING
We ran a reverse image search of the viral image and found an identical photograph featured in a news article published by ‘The Hindu’ on 10 September 2022 with the title “When Kamaraj ordered cake for the Prince”
According to the article, when Queen Elizabeth-II visited Chennai (formerly Madras) on 19 February 1961, then Chief Minister of Madras State K. Kamaraj hosted the first birthday party for Prince Andrews. This photograph was taken during this event, where the Queen is seen cutting the cake for her child. However, a closer look into the picture reveals that Kamaraj was not the only person sitting in Queen’s presence.
One can see several Indian and foreign dignitaries sitting on either side of the Queen. Also, there are several instances where people sat in Queen’s presence. They can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, Indian independence activist & former CM of Madras state Kamaraj was not the only person who had the honour to sit in front of the Queen Elizabeth-II.