The world has just turned the page of history. Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 at the age of 96 after a seven-decade reign. Longest recorded in the British royal family. Since the death of Prince Philip in April 2021, the fragile health of the sovereign has never ceased to worry the British people. He retired surrounded by his family at his castle in Balmoral, Scotland.
His disappearance created a shock wave. Because Elizabeth II was a diplomatic weapon for the United Kingdom, exerting a discreet but definite influence on the world. A true Earth Queen, she circled the Earth 42 times (traveling to over 110 countries) before calling it quits in 2015 at the age of 89. However, there are certain territories that Elizabeth II never set foot on during her reign, like…Greece.
Absence related to spouse
Is it surprising? Not really. Indeed, Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, had a complicated history with the country where he was born in 1921. In September 1922, during the Greco-Turkish War, his uncle, King Constantine I of Greece, was forced to abdicate, leaving the entire monarchy in limbo. Prince Andrew of Greece, Philip’s father, finds himself banished from the country. He must escape with his family on a British ship to reach France. Proof of travel savings. The future Duke of Edinburgh, then a baby, sleeps in a bed made from an orange box. A sad episode that will mark him forever.
Because the fall of the monarchy, the dictatorship of the colonels, the tension between the Greek royal family and the government would prevent him, and indeed Elizabeth II, from making official visits to Greece. However, the royal couple had already been there with discretion before they ascended the throne as sovereigns in 1952. A trip he wouldn’t repeat after that.
And Greece isn’t the only area to suffer from Elizabeth II’s displeasure. Because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on which she never wanted to take sides (the sacred rule of neutrality obliges), the Queen never went to Israel during her reign. His grandson, Prince William, will still visit the country in 2018. The same rule applies to Cuba, which was marked especially by the missile crisis of 1962, or Argentina, against which the United Kingdom opposed the Falklands War in 1982. The Philippines, Albania or even Montenegro will not have the honor of a royal visit either.
Source: Le Figaro
