Elizabeth II visited Sri Lanka for the first time in 1954, five months after her coronation. She was accompanied by her spouse, Prince Philip. During their ten-day stay, the royal couple traveling by royal train visited Colombo, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Nuwara Eliya.
While in Colombo, the Queen opened the first session of Ceylon’s second parliament. The second time Elizabeth II visited Sri Lanka was in 1981, at which time she witnessed the construction of the Victoria Dam, Sri Lanka’s largest hydroelectric project by a British company.
