Durban - Durban’s former deputy mayor, Logie Naidoo, has fond memories of Queen Elizabeth, having met her twice . Naidoo said his first meeting was at a high tea hosted at Durban’s city hall in the ’90s .
Afternoon tea remains a royal tradition, and the queen was known to have taken part in it daily. Naidoo remembers she wore a blue outfit when he first met her. “I met the queen on two occasions in Durban. The first was before the metro council was formed.
We were a new democracy when the queen visited South Africa. While at the city hall, she met all the councillors. “We were in groups of 10, standing in a circle, and we were briefed on the protocol – not to shake hands, how to curtsy, and only to talk if she spoke to you,” said Naidoo.
His second meeting with the queen was during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at the Durban International Convention Centre. “It was during the presidency of Thabo Mbeki.
She addressed the conference of the British Commonwealth nations. We did not get to interact with her at the conference, as she was brought in by the then-president Mbeki with former president Nelson Mandela as a special guest,” he said.
Naidoo said that he respected the monarchies in all countries and he offerd his condolences to the British royal family. “Some South Africans embrace the British monarchy, but show disregard for the monarchy in KwaZulu-Natal. “I pass my condolences to the royal family on their loss. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II was recognised by all Commonwealth countries,” he said.
The queen’s funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday. The event will be one of the largest diplomatic occasions of the century. President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend the funeral. Naidoo said he would watch the funeral on TV. “Her funeral will be a historic occasion, and I will watch the funeral as I did Princess Diana’s.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE