President's Pavilion is an

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

, located in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. This was formerly the Governor's Pavilion until 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic. It is located close to the sacred

Temple of the Tooth The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which ho ...

in the center of the city of Kandy at the head of the Pavilion Street. Although an official residence, it is used rarely for

official functions An official function is either an event, such as a convention, that has an official purpose for one's employment, vocation or profession-whether run by a person, institution or governmental agency-or an official duty. Attending events with officia ...

, most notably during the

Esala Perahera The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred To ...

when at its conclusion the perahera sandeshaya is presented.

History

After the British gained control of the

Kandyan Kingdom The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom of the Kin ...

in 1815 by the

Kandyan Convention The Kandyan Convention ( Sinhala: උඩරට ගිවිසුම ''Udarata Giwisuma'') was a treaty signed on 2 March 1815 between the British Governor of Ceylon Sir Robert Brownrigg and the chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, British Ceylon (no ...

it governed the former Kandyan Kingdom as a protectorate. However following the

Uva Rebellion UVA most often refers to: * Ultraviolet A, a type of ultraviolet radiation * University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Uva or UVA may also refer to: Places * Uva, Missouri, an unincorpora ...

, three years later in which Kandy was captured by the rebels, the British moved to combined both parts of the island under a central administration. However Kandy remained an important city second only to the capital

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. Therefore a European-style palace was constructed in the late 18th century for the use of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

during his visits to the city. This was used for hosting Royal visits to Kandy, most notably that of

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

, in 1875. In 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allies of World War II, Allied operations in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, South-East Asian Theatre during the World War II, Second World War. Histo ...

of the allies was moved to Kandy, where it remained till the end of the war.

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, Supreme Allied Commander of the South East Asia Command, took up residence at the Governor's Pavilion till the end of the war. Following independence in 1948 the house became the official residence of the

Governor General of Ceylon The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. History There were four governors-general. S ...

in Kandy. It was formally renamed as the President’s Pavilion in 1972, after Sri Lanka became a republic.

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first and only non-executive and ceremonial President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic i ...

a native of Kandy was the last Governor General and first

to reside at the house.

External links

Dr.Tony Donaldson reflects on the Prince of Wales’ visit to Ceylon in 1875, 7 days in Ceylon
* [http://sundaytimes.lk/070805/KandyTimes/kt23.html I’m happy when I can make others happy’, Well-known and popular personality of Kandy, Dr. Nihal Karunaratne recalls anecdotes of a colourful life to Udumbara Udugama] {{coord, 7, 15, 50, N, 80, 38, 25, E, region:LK_type:landmark, display=title British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Houses in Kandy Official residences in Sri Lanka Presidential residences