The Queen flew into Uganda yesterday for the first time in more than half a century and received a rapturous welcome from cheering crowds, many holding posters of her and waving branches of green leaves in welcome.

The monarch, who arrived from a short break in Malta to celebrate her diamond wedding anniversary, was whisked from an upgraded Entebbe airport in a black Range Rover to an official meeting with President Museveni, members of his Cabinet and a host of other dignitaries at the nearby Entebbe State House.

After a brief ceremony — during which the British and Ugandan flags were raised to mark the start of the Queen’s two-day state visit — the royal convoy drove the 25 miles to Kampala, the capital, delighting thousands of onlookers who lined the route, dancing and cheering as she passed.

One man told The Times that he was very concerned to see that the Queen, dressed in a cream outfit with a smart dress hat, was not wearing her Crown. “How are people here to know she is the Queen? When she walks around amongst us, she must put it on,” he exclaimed.

The Queen last visited Uganda in 1954, eight years before the former British colony gained independence. She will open the Commonwealth summit formally tomorrow.

On her previous visit — then, as now, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh — only two years after she ascended the throne, she commissioned the first hydro-electric power plant in Uganda, at the Owen Falls Dam in Jinja, the source of the Nile. It was renamed Nalubaale Dam on independence.

Much else has changed, too, but the country is still full of other reminders of its colonial past and close association with the monarch, who is also head of the 53-member Commonwealth and known to be fond of its biennial gatherings. Queen Elizabeth National Park, named after the monarch’s last visit, remains unchanged and a statue of a younger Queen still adorns Centenary Park.

Ugandans, even the notoriously aggressive prostitutes of the capital, who have been ordered off the streets for the duration of the state visit and summit, are overwhelmingly positive about the visit despite the cost, estimated at several million pounds, of sprucing up Kampala, once known as the Pearl of Africa.

“It is bad for business but we are patriotic girls too, you know, so we just say, ‘Happy CHOGM to them all’,” said one who spends most evenings in a pool bar in the city centre.

“It’s a real pleasure,” said John Ojeda, a traffic policemen. “She’s brought us a lot of joy. Her coming here brings the message that there is peace in Uganda now.”

Many regard the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known by its acronym, CHOGM, as an opportunity to shed for ever the image of the country still associated in many minds with the brutal rule of Idi Amin, who killed at least 300,000 people and expelled thousands of Asian businessmen.

“It is because of her visit that Kampala actually looks beautiful, with a remarkable improvement in structures. I also believe we are part of history and will narrate this visit to our grandchildren just like those who were present in 1954 proudly narrated it to us,” said Joseph Kavuma, a manager.

Today, the Queen is due to visit an HIV/Aids clinic and address Parliament. In the evening, President Museveni, who was 10 years old when she last visited, will host a state banquet in her honour. Her presence has been an enormous fillip to the Ugandan leader, who has faced criticism in recent years for refusing to hand over the reins after more than 20 years in power.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive this evening. It will be only the second time that the Queen and Prince Charles have been present together at a Commonwealth summit. That has triggered speculation, strongly denied by Buckingham Palace, that the Queen may be prepared to hand over some of her foreign duties to the heir apparent.

However, if Prince Charles wishes to follow in his mother’s footsteps in Uganda, he needs to work on his image. One newspaper, which contained articles on every aspect of the Queen’s life from her love of corgis to her dress sense, gave another article the headline “Who is Prince Charles?”