“Don’t take yourself too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom” [Elizabeth II].
Elizabeth II: ties with Russia and Cyprus. So, Elizabeth II cheerfully and self-ironically says about herself. The 96-year-old reigning Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth Kingdoms from the House of Windsor. Today, she is also the Supreme Commander of the British Armed Forces, the Supreme Ruler of the Church of England and the Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current monarch in the 14 independent states:
- Australia
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Belize
- Uk
- Grenada
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Solomon Islands
- Tuvalu
- and Jamaica
Yesterday, June 2, 2022, the Queen celebrated the Platinum Jubilee – 70 years of reign. She has ruled longer than her 4 predecessors, and combined. During this time, 14 British prime ministers and the same number of US presidents have been replaced. Of the British monarchs, only Queen Victoria, who ruled for 63 years, is comparable to Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth II: connection with Russia
There have been difficult moments in our history. She very rarely expresses her opinion in public. And even less often about what he thinks about Russia and its citizens. Did you know that Elizabeth II is the great-niece of Nicholas II? The unifying link and their stories are Queen Victoria. Elizabeth is Victoria’s great-great-granddaughter, and Nicholas II was married to Victoria’s granddaughter, Alexandra Feodorovna. Elizabeth’s late husband, Prince Philip, was also a relative of the Romanovs – on his father’s and mother’s side. Because of the execution of the Romanovs, the British monarch did not visit the Soviet Union. But Elizabeth managed to visit Russia.
Visit to Russia
In 1994, Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to pay an official visit to Russia. Russian President Boris Yeltsin received her with all due honors. “There have been difficult moments in our history. But what I am going to say now for our peoples is very important: in the future we will work together and together we will be able to build a better future,” said Elizabeth II. She also managed to communicate with Muscovites, as well as with students of special school No 20. After that, she went to St. Petersburg. She saw the sword of Nicholas II, which was given to her by the Queen’s great-grandfather, Tsar Edward VII.
The return visit of the Russian leader took place only after Yeltsin’s departure. This was the first state visit of a Russian leader to the UK in 125 years. Koroleva and Vladimir Putin announced the need for joint work. “Now we will be able to look forward together. Firmly agreeing with the route defined in the UN,” she said. During Vladimir Putin’s visit, a funny story happened: David Blunkett’s guide dog barked loudly at Putin. And I, says Blunkett, had to apologize to the queen who received the guests. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, that the dog barked,” he said. “Dogs have interesting instincts. Isn’t it?” said the Queen. Unfortunately, she did not explain what she meant. But everyone was having fun that evening. After all, the queen always wins over people.
Lunch with Gagarin
In 1961, Queen Elizabeth II invited cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to the UK for a dinner in honor of the first manned flight into space. And 60 years later, at an online zoom meeting (Zoom) with British scientists, the Queen succinctly described the cosmonaut. To the question: “And what was Yuri Gagarin like?”, she answered, smiling: “Russian.” And all the participants of the online meeting began to laugh merrily… 🙂 “He didn’t speak English, but he was a charming man. And perhaps the fact that he was the first in space was especially exciting. Because it’s hard to realize that you can return to Earth again, being alone, in space?!? And he returned. Gagarin is an outstanding person!” the queen said.
Elizabeth II: connection with Cyprus
It turns out that many years before Princess Elizabeth appeared in Philip’s life, he was in Cyprus with the Royal Navy. As an officer in the Mediterranean Fleet , Cyprus was familiar to him. In total, he spent 10 years in local waters – most of the time fighting German submarines that were hunting Allied targets between Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and Gibraltar. When he married Princess Elizabeth, it was important for him to have his own achievements.
He has always been a physically active person, so the navy suited him very well, and he loved his years as an officer, writes the Sunday Mail. When the Wiltshire Regiment arrived in Nicosia in 1956, with Philip as commander-in-chief, relations quickly soured. The hanging of the fighters Eok and Andreas in the central prison of Nicosia that summer led to the immediate end of the “good status” on the island. Even the mayor of Athens, out of anger, smashed a memorial plaque in the chapel of St. Philip and St. Elizabeth, dedicated to the wedding of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. He (the mayor) said: “Execution will forever remain a stain on the British crown.” And later, in 1961, the Queen and Prince Philip made a short stop at Akrotiri (a military base in Cyprus), where they held several important meetings, including with Makarios. This marked the beginning of the restoration of good relations between the two countries.
Prince Philip’s Greek Roots
Prince Philip was born in Corfu in 1921. He was the 5th child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg and the nephew of King Constantine. His family fled Athens after the coup in 1922 and moved to France. Philip moved to England to live with his grandmother in 1928. By 1947, he renounced his rights to the Greek throne and became a British subject, and then married Princess Elizabeth.
Larnaca (1993)
However, during a visit in 1993, the royal couple spent 7 days in Larnaca aboard the yacht “Britannia” during the meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth. The trip was marred by controversy over whether the queen should be granted the “golden key” to Nicosia, as some political figures continued to accuse her of executing Eok fighters. For example, in Nicosia, mass protests (posters and hunger strikes) were washed.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Rolls-Royce
And in Larnaca (in addition to protests), the young doctor Haris Aristidis several times expressed his negative position on the arrival of the queen on the island. After that, the police arrested Dr. Haris, as he managed to break the windshield of Queen Elizabeth II’s Rolls-Royce limousine. And she was even able to bring back an ancient amphora from there – a gift from President Clerides. This “gift” caused indignation at the Department of Historical Antiquities of Cyprus.
Elizabeth II’s favorite island
“Cyprus is my favorite island of all the English colonies,” the queen admits. “The thing is that the combination of virgin nature and urban infrastructure, which are intertwined with the Cypriots and the British. It’s a comfortable island,” she says.
No matter how well or badly they treat Elizabeth II, she remains the most discussed figure of the XX-XXI centuries. For a decade now, after the days of the British colony, the British and other Europeans still live here. They are very fond of the local flavor and sun-rich nature. Therefore, many people like to come here, considering Cyprus their dacha. And if you want to buy real estate here and move to live here. Or just use Northern Cyprus as a summer cottage – welcome! We are waiting for you!
Property Managers
If you want to buy an apartment or villa on the Mediterranean Sea, then you can look through our entire database yourself. We have a large number of author’s real estate in North Cyprus for every taste and budget. Contacts of managers:
- Philip Babenko +90 533 840 3183
- Irina Chekaleva +90 533 852 0549
- Yulia Rogulskaya +90 533 856 9449
- Orhan Atasoy +90 533 840 0175
- Feyweh Olatunde +90 548 888 33 48
Source: Veles Enterprises Article prepared by: Valerii Veles
If you have any questions regarding a residence permit, buying air tickets. As well as questions about apostilled powers of attorney, please contact Veles Property. Our contact phone numbers: 0533 826 0449 (Diana), 0533 840 4838 (Vera), 0533 833 3398 (Irina)
