SINGAPORE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Singapore late Thursday – her first trip to the city-state in nearly two decades.
She was accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, on her visit to the former British colony, which followed a five-day trip to Australia.
Their engagements include meetings with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President S.R. Nathan, a state banquet and visits to a library, a public housing estate and a memorial commemorating World War I and II.
Singapore was touted as an impregnable fortress of the British Empire before it fell swiftly to Japanese forces on Feb. 15, 1942. Once the linchpin of the British defense of Malaya, which later became independent Malaysia, it was one in a succession of territories that fell as the Japanese swept across Southeast Asia.
About 80,000 Indian, Australian and British troops were captured in Singapore. Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime prime minister, described the fall as “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history.”
The two countries enjoy close ties. In July, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prime Minister Lee signed an agreement to promote collaboration in science, engineering and technology, partly through fellowships and joint research.
The queen, who last visited in 1989, is expected to depart on Saturday.
In Australia on Wednesday, the queen opened the Commonwealth Games, which gathers 4,500 athletes from 71 countries and territories of the Commonwealth, former British colonies or dependencies headed by the queen. She met with athletes earlier Thursday.
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