Queen goes shoeless to tour Abu Dhabi mosque

LONDON - Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II visited a mosque in Abu Dhabi dressed in an Islamic-style headscarf and in stockinged feet, a media report said Thursday.

The Queen is on a five-day visit to the Gulf. She visited the huge mosque in Abu Dhabi, dedicated to founding president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, Daily Express reported.

Her gold brocade coat with Swarovski crystals stitched into the material, with a gold lame shawl wrapped around a pillbox hat, was made by her in-house designer Angela Kelly.

The Queen, 84, and Prince Philip, 89, went to Abu Dhabi on a mission to help the government meet a target of increasing annual trade between the two nations from 7.5 billion pounds to 12 billion pounds.

The royal couple were met at the airport by the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, who is also Britain’s trade ambassador. Andrew said his family were excited about Prince Williams wedding to Kate Middleton.

I am aware that the United Kingdom has taken Kate to their hearts, he said.

Britains ambassador to the UAE, Dominic Jermey, said: One of their royals asked, ‘Is there any chance we could get them to take their honeymoon here?