"State visit of Elizabeth II to the Republic of Ireland Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, made a state visit to the Republic of Ireland from 17 May to 20 May 2011, at the invitation of the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. It was the first visit by a reigning British monarch to the area that is now the Republic of Ireland since the 1911 tour by Elizabeth's grandfather King George V, when the entire island of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom"
"Kingdom, as well as for smaller ones for countless individual streets throughout the country. No monarch before Queen Elizabeth II had visited more of the United Kingdom in such a short span of time (the trips lasted three months). All in all, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip visited a total of 36 counties. The trip started with record crowds gathering to see the Queen and Prince Philip in Glasgow, Scotland, on 17 May. After moving to England (where a record one million spectators came to greet the couple in Lancashire) and Wales, the Queen and Prince Philip wrapped"
"II and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, toured only the United Kingdom. Other parts of the Commonwealth were toured by her children and grandchildren as her representatives. At the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which was officially launched in the UK on 6 February 2012. Chaired by former British prime minister Sir John Major, the trust was intended to support charitable organisations and projects across the Commonwealth of Nations, focusing on areas such as cures for diseases and the promotion"
"Duke of Edinburgh then departed Canada on 15 October. Elizabeth's first official engagements related to the Golden Jubilee took place in Jamaica; for the country, the Queen had acceded in 1952 as monarch of the United Kingdom and became distinctly Queen of Jamaica 10 years later; her tour of the island therefore coincided with the country's 40th anniversary of independence. She arrived for the celebrations on 18 February 2002, nine days following the death of her sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon; the Queen established a short period of private, though not state, mourning. Elizabeth was first welcomed in Montego"
"it does in the other self-governing countries of which I am Queen. This is the opening of a new and challenging chapter for the people of Malta and they are entering it with determination and enthusiasm."" Prior to becoming queen she stayed on the islands four times between 1949 and 1951 to visit her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was stationed in Malta as a serving officer in the Royal Navy. Elizabeth II visited Malta after it became a republic in 1992 (28–30 May), 2005 (23–26 November), and 2007 (20 November). She attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government"
"Governor-General of Australia. Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil, coming ashore at Farm Cove, Sydney, on 3 February 1954. She had two years earlier been en route to Australia when her father died while she was on a private visit to Kenya, forcing her to return to the United Kingdom. Once finally in Australia, with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, she undertook a journey through the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, including greeting 70,000 ex-servicemen and women at the Melbourne Cricket"
"II and his wife, Queen Rania. They visited Syrian refugee camps of the civil war. The Duchess attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in May 2013 and the same month she travelled to Paris on her first solo trip outside the UK. That same year, they attended the Enthronement of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, as well as the preceding celebrations in honour of Queen Beatrix. In June 2014, the Duchess and the Prince of Wales attended the 70th anniversary celebrations of D-Day in Normandy, France, and embarked on a nine-day tour to"
"""witnessed the transformation of the international landscape through which [the United Kingdom] must chart its course"" and declared her ""resolve to continue, with the support of [the Royal Family], to serve the people... to the best of [her] ability through the changing times ahead."" For the Queen's goodwill visits, which commenced on 1 May, two to three days were spent in each corner of England; the Queen and the Duke first stopped in Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset before travelling to Tyne and Wear, then finally to Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. On 13 May, the couple were received in Northern Ireland, and"
"visited an underprivileged area of Kingston, known as Trenchtown, viewing urban poverty projects while there. The tour ended on a unique note when, at the final banquet in Jamaica, a power outage plunged King's House into darkness during the meal; Elizabeth described the event as ""memorable"". Following her tour of Jamaica, the Queen next toured New Zealand, making stops in Auckland, Taupo, Christchurch, and Wellington. She and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in the country on 22 February, just after Prime Minister Helen Clark said in a speech that she felt it ""inevitable that New Zealand will become a republic."""
"In November 2006, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom announced that she and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, would make a state visit to the U.S. in May 2007, her first since 1991. She arrived in Virginia on May 3, 2007. As the current British monarch, the queen's presence at this historic event further demonstrates the continuing significance of Anglo-American relations. Elizabeth is not only direct descendant of James I of England, the settlement's namesake, but also the direct descendant of George III of the United Kingdom, under whose reign Great Britain lost the same territory in"
"Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth was born in London as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Philip, Duke"
"There have been two official states visits each between UK and Sweden in the current reign of Elizabeth II. Former King Gustaf VI Adolf and Queen Louise made a visit to Elizabeth between the 28 June to the 1st July 1954. In return she made an official visit to Sweden visiting Stockholm and Gothenburg between the 8 to 10 June 1956. Later on, the current monarch Carl XVI Gustaf made on official visit to the UK between 8 and 11 July 1975. Elizabeth later returned the visit between 25 and 28 May 1983. The current monarch of Sweden Carl XVI"
"Queen Elizabeth II paid state visits to Malaysia in October 1989 and September 1998. David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom visited Malaysia in the first half of 2012 as part of his Asia tour. Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge visited Malaysia from 13–16 September 2012, as part of a nine-day tour through Commonwealth countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. On 2 November 2017, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, made an official visit to Malaysia to commemorate the"
"The Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee."" He also took part in maritime exercises organised by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and toured Harbour Island. To mark Elizabeth II's 60 years as Barbados' monarch—as Queen of the United Kingdom between 1952 and 1966 and as Queen of Barbados thereafter—the country hosted the Queen's youngest son and his wife, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, between 23 and 24 February 2012. The tour began with the Earl and Countess arriving, aboard RFA ""Fort Rosalie"", at the Deep Water Harbour of Bridgetown, where Barbadian military personnel were given inspection. To"
"to Scotland (the first visit to Scotland by a reigning monarch since 1651). On 24 June 1953, following her coronation at Westminster Abbey, the crown was carried before Queen Elizabeth II in a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the High Kirk of St Giles, Edinburgh, where the Honours of Scotland, including the crown, were presented to The Queen during a National Service of Thanksgiving. More recently, the crown has been present at the official opening ceremonies of sessions of the Scottish Parliament, including the first in 1999 and the official opening of the new Scottish Parliament Building in"
"Coronation gown of Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place on 2 June 1953. Ordered in October 1952, it took eight months of research, design and workmanship to make the intricate embroidery of her coronation gown. It featured the floral emblems of the countries of the United Kingdom and those of the other states within the Commonwealth of Nations, including the English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Canadian maple leaf, Australian wattle, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, Indian lotus flower for India, the Lotus flower of Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute. The"
"in England was ""a great day for me, one of emotions, sweet, happy and the same time glorious emotions to come back as Queen to my own country, to be received officially, in all honour and enthusiastically into the bargain – to feel your heart swell with pride and satisfaction, to feel your heart beat and tears start into your eyes, while something gave you a lump into your throat!"" These state visits were a symbolic recognition of the prestige Romania had gained after World War I. Whilst visiting Geneva, Marie and Ferdinand became the first royals to enter the"
"groups were opposed to the visit, with protests organised at locations on the Queen's itinerary. In April 2014, President Michael D. Higgins reciprocated the Queen's visit when he became the first Irish president to make a state visit to the United Kingdom. The Queen's visit was formally announced by Buckingham Palace and Áras an Uachtaráin simultaneously on 4 March 2011. The Queen's announcement stated: The announcement was widely expected as both governments had anticipated the visit publicly for some time. The British ambassador to Ireland, David Reddaway, had described the visit as ""imminent"" in 2009. Queen Elizabeth II's visit came"
"three days in Wales, touring Anglesey, Llanelli, and Cardiff. The next month, the royal couple made two-day trips to the West Midlands, Yorkshire (where the Queen visited the set of the soap opera ""Emmerdale""), and the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, as well as undertaking a three-day goodwill trip to Liverpool and Manchester, where the Queen opened the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The Queen closed out July by touring the East Midlands, and ended her domestic tour by visiting Lancashire. Amongst several other events independently organised to celebrate the Jubilee in June 2002 were the British Army's staging at Portsmouth of"
"Coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London. Elizabeth II ascended the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies before holding such festivals. It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the ceremony. During the service, Elizabeth"
"Commonwealth realms Canada and Australia, continued as a self-governing colony under the Colonial Office, until independence came with the signing of the Barbados Independence Order by Queen Elizabeth II. In the same year, Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, opened the second session of the first parliament of the newly established country, before the Queen herself, along with her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, toured Barbados, opening Barclays Park, in Saint Andrew, amongst other events. Elizabeth returned for her Silver Jubilee in 1977, after addressing the new session of parliament, she departed on the Concorde, which was the"
"in the actual beacon lighting. In Belize, the Governor-General-in-Council and the Belize Tourism Board organised a tour of the country by Prince Harry, between 2 and 3 March 2012, as part of the country's celebrations of Elizabeth II's 60th year as monarch of Belize, first as Queen of the United Kingdom and then, after 1981, as Queen of Belize. Harry visited Belmopan and San Ignacio where ceremonies and events had less emphasis on state protocol. In the capital, Harry unveiled a series of commemorative stamps issued by the Belize Postal Service, attended the city's street festival, and dedicated a street"
"State visit of the President of Ireland to the United Kingdom The State visit of the President of Ireland to the United Kingdom occurred on 7 April 2014. It was the first state visit of a President of Ireland to the United Kingdom. The visit came three years after the first state visit by a British monarch to Ireland following its independence. President Michael D. Higgins and First Lady Sabina Higgins were welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II on 8 April at Windsor Castle on the first day of a four-day visit. The President attended a formal meeting with British prime"
"Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II was a multinational celebration throughout 2012, that marked the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. Queen Elizabeth is queen regnant of 16 sovereign states, known as Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. The only other time in British history that a monarch celebrated a Diamond Jubilee was in 1897, when Queen Victoria celebrated hers. Commemorative events were held throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. Unlike the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilees, when the Queen toured most of her realms around the world, Elizabeth"
"By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as head of multiple independent states was already established. In 1953, the Queen and her husband embarked on a seven-month round-the-world tour, visiting 13 countries and covering more than 40,000 miles by land, sea and air. She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations. During the tour, crowds were immense; three-quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen her. Throughout her reign, the Queen has made hundreds of state visits to other countries and tours of the Commonwealth; she is"
"John XXIII. She made two State Visits during the pontificate of John Paul II in 1980 and 2000. Pope Benedict XVI was the first Pope to make an official visit to the United Kingdom on 16 September 2010, which was accorded the status of a state visit. In a break with normal arrangements for state visits he arrived in Edinburgh rather than London and was granted an audience of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at her official residence in Scotland, the Palace of Holyrood House. On the evening of the same day he celebrated the second Papal Mass ever held"
"up the first of their trips with a visit to Northern Ireland. Among the places visited during the national trips were numerous schools, which were the subject of a television special hosted by presenter Valerie Singleton. Later in the summer, the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on a Commonwealth visit that first brought them to island nations such as Fiji and Tonga, following up with longer stints in New Zealand and Australia, with a final stop in Papua New Guinea before going on to the British holdings in the West Indies. The final stop on the international tour was a"
"holidays. In 1889, during a stay in Biarritz, she became the first reigning monarch from Britain to set foot in Spain when she crossed the border for a brief visit. By April 1900, the Boer War was so unpopular in mainland Europe that her annual trip to France seemed inadvisable. Instead, the Queen went to Ireland for the first time since 1861, in part to acknowledge the contribution of Irish regiments to the South African war. In July, her second son Alfred (""Affie"") died. ""Oh, God! My poor darling Affie gone too"", she wrote in her journal. ""It is a"
"Queen's first ever tour of the Baltic states. The Queen presides over the annual Royal Garden Party, for which every invitation is written by hand and checked by the 'Garden Party Ladies'. One of the guests at the Garden Party is Pearl Mitchell from Northern Ireland, who nervously prepares to meet the Queen. Following the Garden Party, the Queen visits a Hindu Temple and has a feast of Kashmiri delicacies. In Northumberland, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have tea with an organic farming family. Meanwhile, The Duke of Edinburgh travels to the official opening of the"
"March, the coronation on 2 June 1953 went ahead as planned, as Mary had asked before she died. The ceremony in Westminster Abbey, with the exception of the anointing and communion, was televised for the first time. Elizabeth's coronation gown was embroidered on her instructions with the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries: English Tudor rose; Scots thistle; Welsh leek; Irish shamrock; Australian wattle; Canadian maple leaf; New Zealand silver fern; South African protea; lotus flowers for India and Ceylon; and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute. From Elizabeth's birth onwards, the British Empire continued its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations."
"that it was the first royal visit to the new territory of Nunavut, where the royal couple made their first Canadian stop in Iqaluit. There, on 4 October, the Queen opened and addressed the new legislative assembly, stating in her speech: ""I am proud to be the first member of the Canadian Royal Family to be greeted in Canada's newest territory."" After a walk-about through Iqaluit, the Queen unveiled one of the street signs on the town's main thoroughfare, which had been renamed in her honour. From Nunavut, the royal party flew to Victoria, where the Queen and Duke of"
"Minister, Anthony Eden. The Menzies era saw the sun set on the British Empire and the expansion of the Commonwealth of Nations as its successor. Menzies and Australians in general remained deeply loyal to the institution of the Monarchy in Australia and the 1954 Royal Tour by Queen Elizabeth II and her consort, Prince Phillip was greeted by wild enthusiasm across the continent. Harold Macmillan then became the first British Prime Minister to visit in 1958. The first tour by a reigning monarch saw her cover 10,000 miles by air and 2,000 miles by ground. On a later Royal Tour"
"with Princes Andrew and Edward, in 1959 and 1963, mark the only times she has not performed the State Opening of the British parliament during her reign. In addition to performing traditional ceremonies, she also instituted new practices. Her first royal walkabout, meeting ordinary members of the public, took place during a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970. The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. Over 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, in"