The King and Queen were garlanded with flowers when they celebrated the 30th anniversary of a landmark Hindu temple with its devotees.
Charles and Camilla wished worshippers a belated “Happy Diwali” – the Hindu festival of lights celebrated earlier this month – when they toured BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in West London, popularly known as the Neasden temple.
A priest dressed in flowing orange robes placed a garland of roses and carnations around the neck of the King while the Queen’s floral gift was presented by a female senior volunteer.
And sacred threads called nada chadi were tied around their right wrists “to show our bonds remain ever sweet,” the King was told by a priest.
The temple is covered in ornately carved stone and is built using classical Vedic architectural principles, with no structural steel and its ceilings and pillars are decorated with figures reflecting the devotion and craftsmanship.
Marble and limestone were hand-carved in India by skilled artisans, then shipped to London and assembled with the support of thousands of volunteers and donors from across the UK and abroad.
Charles made his fourth visit to the temple having toured the building in 2009 with his wife when he was the Prince of Wales and also made solo trips in 2001 and 1996.
The King and Queen visited the temple’s inner sanctum where first Charles watched a little boy leave an offering of flower petals to a group of Hindu deities and then Camilla saw a young girl leave the same offering.
The central figure was Swaminarayan to whom the temple is dedicated and Charles, who had removed his shoes, as had his wife, when first entering the temple, asked about the immaculately presented offerings of food left in front of the deities and was told they would be distributed to the worshippers.
Charles and Camilla later saw a family performing the abhishek ritual, where they poured holy water on the head of a sacred image of a god to honour the deity and attain his blessings for inner peace and prosperity.
Hundreds of the Hindu community had gathered in a hall and they applauded the couple when they walked in with Camilla sitting on one side with the women and Charles with the men.
Yogvivekdas Swami, head priest of the temple, said to the King in a speech: “As I reflect upon your service and the work of this temple, I see many shared noble sentiments.
“You have championed heritage and traditional architecture, this mandir (temple) embodies that art. You have sustained the arts, here they flourished in music and dance.
“You have empowered young people through the King’s Trust, here we mentor the next generation. You have lived public service, we partner with charities such as the Felix Project to alleviate hunger and food wastage – causes close to Your Majesty.”
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