The Royal entourage: Machine gun-toting convoy escorts Queen Elizabeth through the streets of Muscat during state visit to Oman
With machine guns manned, this was the tight security as the convoy transported Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit to Oman arrived in the capital.
Thousands
of people wearing traditional dress and holding Union Jack flags lined
the streets along the route into Muscat as the Queen was officially
welcomed by the Sultan of Oman, Qaboos' Al-Alam.
The monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived yesterday from Abu Dhabi as part of a five-day state visit to the Gulf.
Convoy: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of
Edinburgh are driven through the streets of Muscat, Oman, in a flotilla
of Land Rovers
Security: Armoured Humvee vehicles with turret mounted machine guns surrounded the royal convoy to the Sultan of Oman's palace
The royal party met the Sultan
at the capital's Muscat Gate and the two heads of state then travelled
to the palace in a flotilla of green Land Rovers.
A mounted band of bagpipers led the motorcade into the royal residence and a waiting guard of honour.
Protected from the burning sun by an ornate wooden canopy, the Queen and the Sultan were then given the royal salute.
The
Queen then led the Sultan on a viewing of priceless British paintings
from the Royal Collection loaned to the Omani palace by the Tate.
Ceremony: The Queen meets with dignitaries at the Al-Alam Palace in Muscat
Shade: The monarch and the sultan shelter
underneath an ornate wooden canopy as they are given a royal salute by a
guard of honour
Tour: The Queen sits with Sultan Qaboos bin Said
before being shown a host of British landscape paintings loaned to Oman
by the Tate
The artworks represent British
landscape painting over the past 250 years from some of the country's
most famous artists, including Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Millais
and Singer Sargent.
It was a
picture of a group of horses by George Stubbs, best known for his
anatomically correct studies of the animals, which made the most
impression on the Queen.
Sir
Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, showed the royal party around
the pictures, which will go on display until the New Year.
Traditional: Women wearing national costume and
waving Oman and Union Jack flags lined the streets of Muscat as the
royal party arrived
Visit: The Queen and Prince Philip are on a five-day state tour of the Gulf
The
Stubbs picture shows mares and foals against a landscape backdrop and
the Queen turned to the Sultan and said: 'You know they always painted
their front legs and their back legs out.'
Sir
Nicholas said after the viewing: 'The Queen, because of her familiarity
with the Royal Collection and Stubbs, was explaining he was the first
to paint the horses in a naturalistic way.
'To
show the Omanis a group of British landscapes painted over the last 250
years is a very important way of promoting the relationship between our
two countries.'
