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.
Priests dressed in flowing orange robes placed garlands of roses and carnations around the necks of the royal couple when they first arrived.
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.
