Queen & Kate Turn Hosts, Welcome Kamal Haasan, Anoushka Shankar, Kunal Nayar & Co

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip hosted an evening celebrating Britain's close ties with India, marking the launch of the UK-India Year of Culture 2017.

The royals greeted a glittering line-up of sports stars, actors, musicians, politicians and diplomats at the festive affair held at Buckingham Palace.

Outside a giant peacock - the national bird of India - was projected onto the facade of Buckingham Palace.



The Indian delegation was led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and included names like Southern superstar Kamal Haasan, Grammy award winning musician Anoushka Shankar, Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayar, British TV star Preeya Kalidas, cricketing icon Kapil Dev, veteran actor Jackie Shroff, chef Vikas Khanna and Bollywood film producer Sheetal Talwar among others.













Kamal Haasan spoke about the event and told a section of the media: “The Queen seemed in good health and remembered her visit to India fondly. The Duke of Edinburgh was in great shape and health as well. The exchange was brief as there were too many people. You might remember during Her Majesty’s visit to India, she visited my film set. Probably the only film shooting she had attended in her whole life."



He further went on to say, “This is a great occasion to celebrate the shared history of India and the UK. The English language is the best example of that and I often refer to it as a great Indian language that unites us all."


Image Source: dailymail/uk & twitter/@KensingtonRoyal