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Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has reflected on the impact Queen Elizabeth II, the longest serving British monarch, had on his life.

In the evening of September 19, a day when Queen Elizabeth was buried, Kufuor said in a Twitter post that the Queen left him with memories that cannot be erased.

He tweeted: “Your astuteness and humanity left me with indelible memories” – a post accompanied by images of him together with the Queen during his visit to Buckingham Palace.

The statesman is one of the few Ghanaian presidents to have met the Queen and to have had a ride with Queen Elizabeth in same carriage.

In an interview with state broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), President Kufuor narrated how he was invited by the Queen for a state visit in 2007.

During his visit, Former President Kufuor said he received the best hospitality from the Royal family.

“So, in 2007, during my presidency, I received an invitation from her to go on a state visit, which is the height of visits among Heads of State. And remember 2007 was also our Golden Jubilee anniversary…

“We landed in London, first, she received me… there, the Honour Guard was put on for me to inspect. There was a canopy under which she and some of the royalty and ministers stood, and then when the parade commander came to escort me, her husband, the late Prince Philip, accompanied me to inspect the guard.

"Straight from there, a golden carriage was standing by, drawn by horses and she invited me to ride with her and so that’s how that opportunity came my way,” he explained.

President John Agyekum Kufuor also told GBC that it was there that he got conferred with the honour of the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath of the UK by the Queen herself.

“She and her husband took me around to show me the gifts they had received from Ghana: some from former presidents, some from our chiefs; they had displayed everything there for me and my wife. Of course, we also sent some: I sent some necklace of precious beads from Ghana, a bit of gold and ancient beads.

“There, we showed them what we had sent them, and then after the exchange of gifts, she also showed me insignia – because they knighted me, gave me the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath; a very high post. It was honorary, of course,” he explained.

Queen Elizabeth II passed away September 8 at the age of 96 and has since been succeeded by her son, King Charles III.

World leaders gathered on September 19 to bid her farewell. According to the Royal Family official Twitter handle, a private burial took place in the evening of September 19 at The King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor.
The Queen was laid to rest with her late husband The Duke of Edinburgh, alongside her father King George VI, mother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and sister Princess Margaret.