RUSHES: Nelson Mandela State Visit: Day 1: Buckingham Palace banquet

Nelson Mandela State Visit: Day 1: Buckingham Palace banquet; ENGLAND: London: Buckingham Palace:INTQueen Elizabeth II and Nelson Mandela (South African President) taking seats at high table of banqueting hall along with Princess Zenani Mandela Diamini (Nelson Mandela's daughter), Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother, George Carey (Archbishop of Canterbury), Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Princess Anne, Princess Royal.Queen Elizabeth II speech SOT part 1 of 2.- I am delighted to welcome you to Buckingham Palace on this the first state visit to Britain by a president of South Africa. By coming here you give Prince Philip and me a chance to repay the magnificent hospitality you gave us on our own visit to South Africa and thus to underline once more the close friendship between our countries.South Africa more than lived up to the keen anticipation I felt as Britannia sailed into Table Bay on that beautiful morning in March last year. Our memories of the visit are still vivid... We met some exceptional individuals... We were struck by the sight of South Africans of all races working together and playing together. We saw for ourselves the miraculous transformation of a society based on inequality into one in which every man and woman is equal before the law... You have yourself provided the leadership and by your willingness to embrace your former captors have set the course towards national reconciliation and freedom for all the people of South Africa. A more truly equal society no longer characterised by the gulf between the living standards and expectations of different races will take longer to achieve