QUEEN Elizabeth II ended her second official visit to Uganda in 53 years on Saturday with a last stop at Kitante Primary School in Kampala.

Kitante, a Universal Primary Education institution, is the only primary school that the Queen visited during her three-day stay. The Queen who arrived in the country on Wednesday also hosted several banquets, addressed the Ugandan Parliament, visited both Mildmay Centre - which houses children living with HIV/Sids and opened the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting - Kampala 2007.

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At the opening of Chogm at Kampala Serena hotel on Friday, the Queen was all praises for Uganda. "Uganda's rich history is longer. Humankind has been present here as far back as our archaeology and history will allow us to go. And just as the people and ideas that originated in this part of Africa spread out to other parts of the globe, so too the wider world has come to touch the lives of Ugandans. This week, it comes here to Kampala in the form of the Commonwealth," she said.

At her visit to Kitante - the Queen, clad in a pink and white outfit, with matching black shoes, gloves, and hand bag made a grand entrance before the crowd of pupils clad in red and white checkered uniforms.
From many kilometers away, Kampala residents could sense her arrival: road blocks and heightened security announced her presence. Like they had done since Friday, people flocked to the streets to watch her heavily armoured vehicle entourage pass through.

As she approached Kitante, people awaited her with Ugandan and British flags, all held high and proud. They waved, but before they knew it, she had passed, eager to reach her destination. The normally quiet compound of Kitante School buzzed with anticipation. In position along the long driveway, girls clapped and sang, boys cheered and shouted. All were waiting for the Queen. They had been preparing for months and now the moment had come.

As she stepped out of her vehicle, the pupils' anticipation turned to excitement with screams of welcome and flags waving in the air. The Queen shook hands with the school's headmaster Frances Senabulya, Minister of Education Geraldine Namirembe Bitamizire, and other dignitaries who had gathered for the occasion. Her black gloved hand waved to the crowd with a wide smile on her face.

She was taken for a brief walk to the Kitante Amphitheater. After a brief prayer and moment of silence, the audience of hundreds of awed children broke into a rousing rendition of "God Save the Queen." The pupils had also prepared several dances and songs for the Queen and her husband Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. She unveiled a plaque while a bouquet of flowers awaited her from a young girl who couldn't have seemed happier for the occasion.

After months of waiting, her visit came and ended quickly, but most students were not disappointed. "The Queen is exactly as I thought she would be," said awestruck headboy David Asiimwe 13. "She's humble and gentle, just like I thought." Kitante School will return to its normal routine next week, but the students will forever remember that they were the primary school selected by the Queen for a visit. As historic as her 1954 visit was, her 2007 visit will surely be just as memorable, especially to students like Asiimwe and the whole of Uganda.