elizabeth 2 visit russia

See Photos of Queen Elizabeth's 1994 State Visit to Russia

The Queen's trip to Russia, which followed Boris Yeltsin's trip to the UK, is depicted in season five of The Crown .

Here, see all the photos of Queen Elizabeth's 1994 trip to Russia, as shown on The Crown :

This is not from the State Visit to Russia, rather this is when Yeltsin visited the UK two years prior. Pictured are Naina Yeltsin, President Boris Yeltsin, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace.

State Visit, 1994

Queen Elizabeth is pictured arriving in Moscow, wearing a glamorous fur coat.

A close-up of the Queen and Prince Philip upon their arrival in Russia.

Throughout the trip, she was accompanied by Boris Yeltsin, who served as president of Russia from 1991 to 1999.

Queen Elizabeth was not the first British royal to visit Russia. In 1973, Prince Philip and Princess Anne attended a horse eventing competition in Kyiv, then part of the Soviet Union, and in 1994, Prince Charles visited Saint Petersburg.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip stayed in the Kremlin as guests of Yletsin.

Here, the Queen and Yetsin are pictured at the Bolshoi theatre.

Queen Elizabeth met Patriarch Alexius II and mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov; they are pictured here outside Saint Basil's Cathedral.

"For Russia, this visit is the utmost recognition that our country is on the road to democracy," Yeltsin told reporters of the Queen's visit.

As The Crown shows, the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family was a reason why the Queen had yet to visit Russia. Her grandfather, King George V, was Nicholas's first cousin.

"You and I have spent most of our lives believing that this evening could never happen. I hope that you are as delighted as I am to be proved wrong," Queen Elizabeth said to Yeltsin at a state banquet.

The two toasted at the banquet.

Queen Elizabeth toured Moscow during her four day trip, including visiting the famous Red Square.

She also met Russian children.

There were more formal events during the trip, too; Queen Elizabeth and Yeltsin attended a ceremony at the Piskarevskoye cemetery, a WWII memorial in St. Petersburg.

During the trip, Prince Philip and the Queen hosted the Yeltsins on board the Royal Yacht Britannia for a banquet.

During her Christmas address two months later, Queen Elizabeth reflected, "I never thought it would be possible in my lifetime to join with the Patriarch of Moscow and his congregation in a service in that wonderful cathedral in the heart of the Moscow Kremlin."

Queen Elizabeth would not return to Russia; Prince Philip returned once more, in 1995, as president of the World Wildlife Fund.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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WATCH: Queen Elizabeth was the first British monarch to visit Russia

Queen Elizabeth II, photographed in 1993. RollingNews

On Oct 17, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II became the first ruling British monarch to set foot on Russian soil.

As the eyes of the world are on Russia and the invasion of Ukraine, which has caused I migration of refugees unlike anything seen since World War II, we thought it interesting to look back at the October 1994 of Queen Elizabeth II to the Kremlin, by invitation of the then Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

In 1994 the Queen made a three-day visit to Russia. Three years before had seen the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when Yeltsin took office. His hope was that Her Royal Majesty's visit would strengthen the trade relationship with Britain and the Western World. 

Yeltsin's spokesman, Vyacheslav Kostikov, said at the time "We realize that the British queen would never have visited a Communist country."

• History of "God Save the King", Britain's National Anthem

Personally, 1994 was also a difficult time for the Queen personally as her son, Prince Charles, had separated from Princess Diana, just two years earlier. A biography of the Prince, by Jonathan Dimbleby, had caused a media frenzy over comments made by Charles with relation to his relationship with his mother and father, Prince Philip. 

The Queen and Prince Philip landed in Moscow on Oct 17, 1994. They were then taken to the Kremlin where they were greeted by Yeltsin and his wife, Naina. The Royal pair were also treated to a special performance of the Bolshoi Ballet.

The climax of the tour was a state banquet given on the final evening by the Queen aboard the royal yacht Britannia which had sailed to St. Petersburg to meet the royal party. 

They left Russia on Oct 20 and broke the journey home by visiting Finland. 

Since 1994 some members of the Royal family have visited Russia, including Princess Anne. She visited in 2016 to mark the 75th anniversary of the first Arctic convoys from the United Kingdom during World War II. Prince Charles also Russia in 2003. This visit resulted in a return invitation to President Vladimir Putin to visit Britain later that year.

Check out some AP footage of the Queen having dinner at the Kremlin:

Related: Queen Elizabeth II

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State visit by Elizabeth II to Russia

1994 visit by the british monarch / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd made a state visit to Russia from 17 to 20 October 1994, hosted by the President of Russia , Boris Yeltsin . It is the first and so far only visit by a reigning British monarch on Russian soil. [lower-alpha 1]

The four-day visit is said to be one of the most important foreign trips of the Queen's reign. [3]

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Queen Elizabeth Makes Historic Visit to Russia

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Queen Elizabeth II, leaving behind the latest Royal Family flap, came to the Kremlin on Monday on the first visit to Russia by a British monarch.

A new authorized biography of her son and heir, Prince Charles, threatened to overshadow the visit by the queen and her husband, Prince Philip. In the book, Charles accuses Philip of forcing him into a loveless marriage.

Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin’s chief spokesman, Vyacheslav V. Kostikov, said the queen’s visit is evidence of Russia’s break with its totalitarian past.

“We realize that the British queen would never have visited a Communist country,” Kostikov said.

Both the queen and Prince Philip are related to the imperial Romanov family of Czar Nicholas II, executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918. The queen’s grandfather, King George V, the czar’s first cousin, refused to give Nicholas II asylum a year earlier.

The 68-year-old queen, wearing a fur coat and pillbox hat, was greeted at Moscow’s Vnukovo-2 airport by First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg N. Soskovets. A beaming Yeltsin and his wife, Naina, gave the royal couple a formal welcome at the ornate St. George’s Hall in the Kremlin.

The royal couple are staying in the Kremlin as Yeltsin’s guests. They attended a performance of “Giselle” at the Bolshoi Ballet on Monday evening, sitting in the “czar’s box” under the coat of arms of the former Soviet Union.

Back in Britain, newspapers were full of speculation about excerpts from the biography of Charles.

Charles recalls how, as a boy, his mother paid him little attention and his father belittled him to the point of tears. As an adult, Charles suggests that Philip pressured him into marrying Princess Diana, whom he says he never loved.

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ELIZABETH II VISITS RUSSIA ON WAVE OF ROYAL GOSSIP

MOSCOW, OCT. 17 -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Russia today for a visit that draws a symbolic close to seven decades of royal frostiness toward Russia over the assassination of Czar Nicholas II, the queen's distant cousin, whose execution with his family by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918 ended the monarchy here.

The royal visit, which British officials consider one of the queen's most important foreign trips, was overshadowed before it began by a furor in England over a new biography of Prince Charles, the queen's son and heir.

Aides traveling with the queen spent much of today playing down the controversy caused by the book, in which Charles says he never loved his wife and suffered from a lack of affection and a domineering father.

Russians, however, seemed less interested in the newest palace dust-up than in the glamor of having royalty here again. Newspaper and television coverage of the first visit by a British monarch began several days ago and continued at a fast pace today, with particular focus on the glitter and the generally warm feelings most Britons have toward the queen.

Russia is in the midst of a mini-monarchist boom, with some polls showing that as many as 18 percent of Russians favor a return to monarchy. A monarchist party was established recently, and a teenage descendant of Nicholas II who lives in Europe and is said to be an heir to the Romanov throne has been treated with growing respect here, even in official circles.

Whether Elizabeth will say anything publicly during about the last czar is unclear, but she will visit the church in St. Petersburg where czars are buried. This spring, the bones of Nicholas II, recently uncovered from a pit near Yekaterinburg where his Bolshevik killers tossed them in 1918, are to be interred there as well.

Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, and Nicholas were first cousins and looked like identical twins. Although the two monarchs were friendly, the British government refused Nicholas political asylum after he was overthrown in 1917, apparently because George feared a surge of anti-monarchist sentiment in England. Nicholas and his family were shot several months later.

Lingering hostility over the fate of Nicholas had prevented a royal trip until now, despite an invitation by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. But the dramatic political and economic changes of the past few years apparently changed minds in London, and Buckingham Palace responded positively to an invitation by President Boris Yeltsin, who ended communist rule here in 1991. Other members of the royal family have already visited Russia -- including Charles and Prince Philip, the queen's consort and Charles's father.

Today, Yeltsin told reporters: "For Russia, this visit is the utmost recognition that our country is on the road to democracy."

In an interview published today in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Prince Philip -- whose own kinship to the last czar devolves through Greek royalty -- said the grisly death of the Romanovs was part of his family history. "But I don't look at this as a family occasion," he said. "We went through this whole drama of the collapse of the Marxist state, and now we see the gradual recombining of countries... . There is tremendous potential."

British officials said the queen's four-day visit is not intended to focus on old wounds but is designed to acquaint the 68-year-old queen with today's Russia. Her schedule here and in St. Petersburg is full of ceremonial events at the Kremlin, where she and Prince Philip are staying; cultural forays around town; and meetings with Russians of all stripes.

State visit by Elizabeth II to Russia

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd made a state visit to Russia from 17 to 20 October 1994, hosted by the President of Russia , Boris Yeltsin . It is the first and so far only visit by a reigning British monarch on Russian soil. [lower-alpha 1]

External links

The four-day visit is said to be one of the most important foreign trips of the Queen's reign. [3]

The killing of Nicholas II and his family in 1918 prevented royal trips from being made to Russia and the Soviet Union. [4] In 1967, when Prince Philip was asked if he would go to Moscow to help ease Cold War tensions he said

"I'd very much like to go to Russia - although the bastards murdered half my family ". [5]

In September 1973, Prince Philip attended the European Eventing Championships in Kyiv as president of the International Equestrian Federation with his daughter, Princess Anne . [6] They became the first British royal family members to visit the Soviet Union since Nicholas II's execution. [6]

In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev made an official visit to the United Kingdom in which he met the Queen. [7] The Queen and Gorbachev met again in July 1991 at the 17th G7 summit in London. [7] Despite this the Queen declined an invitation by Gorbachev to visit the Soviet Union. [4] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Prince Charles visited Saint Petersburg in May 1994 and the Queen accepted an invitation by President Boris Yeltsin to visit the country in October 1994. [8] [4]

On 15 October 1994, Prince Charles approved Jonathan Dimbleby 's biography of him titled The Prince of Wales: A Biography . [9] The book caused controversy due to Prince Charles's revelation that his father Prince Philip had pressured him into marrying Diana Spencer and that he was never in love with her. [9] Prince Charles's biography was considered to have overshadowed the visit in the British media with newspapers speculating about excerpts from the biography. [4] [10] Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd , who would attend the visit with the Queen, said that he was worried about the way in which "chattering people concerned with headlines and mass circulation" affected institutions such as the monarchy. [9] It was reported that aides travelling with the Queen spent much of the visit playing down the controversy. [4]

In contrast, Russian media focused on the Queen and her popularity in the United Kingdom with newspaper and television coverage of the visit continuing for several days. [4] Russia was described by The Washington Post as being in the midst of a "mini-monarchist boom", with some polls showing that as many as 18 per cent of Russians favoured a return to monarchy. [4] Prince Philip said monarchy had thrived in Britain due to it being apolitical while the czar "was, by constitution, the autocrat ." [4] Philip was not convinced that people in Russia would want to return to monarchies, despite the presence of monarchist parties, saying "Do the pretenders actually want to go back? Because I don't think it's an unmitigated pleasure." [4] [3]

The Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin did not return as planned from a holiday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to welcome the monarch, despite being listed in official British protocol as the one who would welcome Elizabeth II. [3] [11] Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Kozyrev was also scheduled to greet the Queen but did not return from New York where he was attending United Nations meetings on Iraq . [11] Kozyrev was reportedly upset with his British counterpart Douglas Hurd for rejecting Russia's plans to resolve the Iraqi conflict . [3]

Elizabeth II was greeted at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow by First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets and a guard of honour . [10] [7] Yeltsin and his wife, Naina , formally welcomed the royal couple at St. George's Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace . [10] They stayed in the Kremlin as Yeltsin's guests. [10] The Queen attended a performance of Giselle at the Bolshoi Ballet , sitting in the "czar's box" underneath the State Emblem of the Soviet Union . [10] She wore a tiara she had acquired herself instead of one of her tiaras she had acquired elsewhere such as the Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara to not cause offence. [12]

The next day, the Queen toured the Kremlin and Red Square and visited an English-language school before attending a state banquet hosted by President Boris Yeltsin. [11] At the banquet, the Queen addressed Yeltsin and said, "You and I have spent most of our lives believing that this evening could never happen. I hope that you are as delighted as I am to be proved wrong". [13] She laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall commemorating World War II casualties . [7] Elizabeth II met the mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov outside of Saint Basil's Cathedral and she also met Patriarch Alexy II , the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church . [14] [7]

The Queen flew to Saint Petersburg on 19 October, where she visited Peter and Paul Fortress , went to a Catholic church and met local orphan children. [11] [7] Elizabeth II departed Russia aboard the royal yacht, HMY Britannia on 20 October 1994. [11] Before returning to the United Kingdom, she made an official visit to Finland . [12]

Boris Yeltsin said the visit was to Russia the "utmost recognition that our country is on the road to democracy" and his chief spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov said the Queen's visit was evidence of Russia's break with its totalitarian past. [11] [10] Kostikov added they were aware that the British queen would never have visited a Communist country. [10] Following the visit, a Russian royalist party announced that it had amassed 800,000 signatures in support of a referendum on whether a constitutional monarchy should be established in Russia. [3]

In her 1994 Christmas Message , the Queen reflected on how times had changed, noting she "never thought it would be possible in [her] lifetime" to attend a service in Saint Basil's Cathedral. [14] Prince Philip made another solo visit to Russia in July 1995 as president of the World Wildlife Fund . [15] In 2003, the Queen hosted Vladimir Putin 's state visit to the United Kingdom and in 2014 they both met again during an event commemorating D-Day in France. [16]

The visit is depicted in the episode "Ipatiev House" in season 5 of the television series The Crown . [17]

• List of state visits made by Elizabeth II
• Monarchism in Russia
• Russia–United Kingdom relations
• ↑ The only previous state visit by a British monarch to Russia was made by King Edward VII in 1908. The King never stepped ashore, and met Nicholas II on royal yachts off the Baltic port of what is now Tallinn , Estonia. [1] [2]

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• ↑ Tomaszewski, F.K. (2002). A Great Russia: Russia and the Triple Entente, 1905–1914 . Praeger . p.   22. ISBN   978-0-275-97366-7 . Archived from the original on 12 March 2022 . Retrieved 12 March 2022 .
• 1 2 3 4 5 "British queen in Moscow" , United Press International , Moscow, 17 October 1994, archived from the original on 12 March 2022 , retrieved 8 September 2022
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Shapiro, Margaret (18 October 1994). "Elizabeth II Visits Russia on Wave of Royal Gossip" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 19 September 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
• ↑ "Factbox: Some of Prince Philip's famous gaffes" . Reuters . 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022 . Retrieved 20 September 2022 .
• 1 2 "A Soviet Landing For Prince Philip" . The New York Times . 3 September 1973. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022 . Retrieved 22 September 2022 .
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Queen Elizabeth II and Russia: In memory of Her Majesty" . Russia Beyond . 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022 . Retrieved 20 September 2022 .
• ↑ "Russia – Britain's Prince Charles Visits" . AP Archive . 16 May 1994. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022 . Retrieved 21 September 2022 .
• 1 2 3 Will Bennett (16 October 1994). "Prince Charles says he has no regrets over Dimbleby book" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 19 September 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Queen Elizabeth Makes Historic Visit to Russia" . Los Angeles Times . 18 October 1994. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sloane, Wendy (19 October 1994), "Not all's forgiven as queen tours a czarless Russia" , The Christian Science Monitor , Moscow, archived from the original on 5 September 2022 , retrieved 8 September 2022
• 1 2 Crawford-Smith, James (3 February 2022). "How Queen Elizabeth II's Only Visit to Russia Came at a Time of Royal Conflict" . Newsweek . Archived from the original on 6 October 2022 . Retrieved 6 October 2022 .
• ↑ Hardman, Robert (2019), Queen Of The World , Penguin Random House, p.   442, ISBN   9781784759513
• 1 2 Street, Francesca; Oliver, Mark (13 September 2022). "The Queen of travel: Journeys of a lifetime" . CNN Travel . Archived from the original on 19 September 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
• ↑ "In Photos: Prince Philip's Russia Visits" . The Moscow Times . 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
• ↑ Farberov, Snejana (9 September 2022). "Putin draws jeers for tribute to Queen in letter to King Charles, will skip funeral" . New York Post . Archived from the original on 19 September 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
• ↑ Taylor, Elise (10 November 2022). "What Really Happened Between the British Royal Family and the Romanovs?" . Vogue . Archived from the original on 11 November 2022 . Retrieved 13 November 2022 .
• Elizabeth II Tours Kremlin by Associated Press
• Death and state funeral
• Queue for the lying-in-state
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Elizabeth II and Russia: a visit to Moscow, a box for Yeltsin and the impressions of eyewitnesses

On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain passed away, and the whole world mourns the loss. Over the 70 years of her reign, she became a mother of 4 children, a grandmother for 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and an idol for millions. In Russia, the Queen is respected, her only visit to Russia and the legendary dinner with Gagarin are remembered. Afisha.London magazine traced the connections of the royal house with Russia and took comments from those who were lucky enough to meet Elizabeth in Moscow.

Romanovs and Windsors

Britain and Russia. Perhaps it would sound surprising that such distant countries have more in common than it seems at first glance. There is an inseparable connection between the Romanov dynasty and Queen Elizabeth, along several lines. First of all, the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, was the great-grandson of Nicholas I. His grandmother Olga Konstantinovna Romanova married the King of Greece Andrei of Greece and Denmark.

The queen herself also has family ties with the Romanovs. Elizabeth’s grandfather, George V, was a cousin of Nicholas II. Contemporaries of the emperor and king noted: brothers were incredibly similar. That is why the queen and the prince experienced conflicting, but undoubtedly warm feelings towards Russia.

Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, also had close ties to Russia. Around 1836–1838, Crown Prince Alexander II went on a trip to Europe. His father, Nicholas I, armed the young Tsarevich with a list of worthy brides, among whom Alexander should have chosen a wife. The list included European aristocrats, princesses and nobles, but the princess of England was not on it. Despite this, the prince went to London to meet the young Victoria. After the first visit, the girl noted the manners and stateliness of the Russian guest, and Alexander — the charm, sense of humour and youth of the interlocutor.

The close circle of the royal people knew about the interest of the prince and princess in each other, but the romance could not go beyond a short passion — for Britain and Russia, this union was unprofitable and even dangerous. In the event of a marriage, one of the parties would have to give in: either Alexander should leave his homeland and became a king consort under Victoria, or Victoria would go to mysterious Russia.

Perhaps it was these close ties that were the reason why Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had conflicting, but undoubtedly warm feelings towards Russia.

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Russia and the Queen

Once the communist regime collapsed, it was only a matter of time before a full resumption of relations with the royal family was possible. The Queen’s first and only visit to Russia took place in 1994. Then President Yeltsin led the country.

Interesting fact: Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to set foot on Russian lands. As early as the 16th century, there were attempts to establish direct contact between the monarchs of Russia and Great Britain: Ivan the Terrible offered Elizabeth I to tie the countries by the bonds of their own marriage. As we know from history, the attempt failed. In total, eleven messages of the Russian Tsar to the British Queen are known.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Queen Elizabeth II on Red Square, 1994. Photo: Dmitry Donskoy/Sputnik

The person it took most effort and time to agree to the trip was Prince Philip. He was directly related to the Russian Imperial House, and he even commented on this to reporters from the Daily Telegraph. The prince noted that the lessons of history remain in memory, but he hopes for the reunification of countries.

The preparations for the royal visit have put the Kremlin on its toes. Safety, dress code, etiquette, and even the color of the flowers presented to the queen — everything had to be right.

The meeting was remembered by the whole world: Yeltsin came very close to violating the royal protocol, almost touching the monarch in an attempt to help take off her coat, but the Queen famously dodged and there was no embarrassment. A small oversight did not prevent Elizabeth II from visiting St. Petersburg and presenting Yeltsin with a touching gift — a box with seeds from the royal garden.

The monarch managed to visit Tsarskoye Selo, the Assumption Cathedral, the Hermitage, the Mariinsky and Yusupov Palaces; meet with Patriarch Alexy II; enjoy a performance at the Bolshoi Theater and participate in the opening of the museum on Varvarka. In total, Elizabeth stayed in Russia for 4 days, during which she managed to fall in love with millions of Russians.

Incidentally, the sapphire brooch that the Queen chose for her first meeting with President Yeltsin used to be part of the decoration of the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, the sister of Alexandra of Denmark, who is the great-grandmother of Elizabeth II.

The most touching moment of a visit to Russia is a visit to school No. 1239 in Moscow. The children greeted the Queen with posters “Welcome, Your Majesty”, treated her to a traditional loaf of bread, junior classes performed an English-language miniature and senior kids presented a theatre performance. Queen Elizabeth II was accompanied by Moscow Mayor Luzhkov and Prince Philip. The Queen left Russia in style: on the royal yacht Britannia, which was moored to the shore of the Promenade des Anglais in St. Petersburg.

State Banquet of Queens Elizabeth II and Boris Yeltsin, Moscow, 1994. Photo: Getty Images

Bouquet for queens

To meet the Queen in person is an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime. Afisha.London reader Zhanna Macmillen was lucky enough to witness the Queen’s visit to Moscow and even be the reluctant hero of the reports of those years:

“My English husband and all the children of British subjects who wished were invited to the Anglican Church in Moscow in the morning to greet the Queen. At first, the Queen signed books — this was the formal part. Then everyone was asked to line up on the street. I was with my son Mitya, he was almost 3 years old, he was absolutely obsessed with cars. Even then, he had 3 toy cars in his hands.

I had a bouquet, and I persuaded Mitya to give it to the queen. Elizabeth approached us and instead of a bouquet, he gives her a car and only then holds out the bouquet, but begins to pull it towards him. It was, of course, a spectacle. I, like a mother, was ready to fall through the ground. But what do I do? The queen says gracefully, ‘Okay.’ And goes further. Of course, the paparazzi captured it all. The next day, all the media published this report.

At that moment I was not very cheerful, but the Queen herself reacted to this with a great sense of humour, easily and playfully. My son, of course, imagined that the Queen would look like a hero of a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, but here it was just a woman in a red coat and a red hat. And anyway, please let me drive her Rolls-Royce. That same evening we, as British subjects, were invited to the Bolshoi Theatre. For a reason that is not clear to me, President Yeltsin chose not the Russian ballet, not Tchaikovsky, but Giselle as the performance. The Queen watched closely, although she is not a big fan of the theatre. This is known to everyone. President Yeltsin dozed a little next to her. I think she enjoyed her evening.

I have many newspaper clippings from that time. They wrote: “The Queen’s visit to Moscow went off without a hitch, with the exception of a duel between the 3-year-old son of a British businessman and a Russian mother.” The press added colour.

I learned of the Queen’s death on Thursday evening. I got off the subway and saw my husband’s message. I had one thought: this is a very worthy life, this is a very worthy leave.

There are many queens and kings in the world. But I am sure that in every corner of the world, when they say QUEEN, everyone thinks of one — Elizabeth II. She was an absolutely incredible woman who left a good memory around the world. And we are all grateful that we lived with her. It so happened that I did manage to become her subject.

Yesterday I went to Buckingham Palace. It is incredibly touching to read the notes of people from different countries of the world. I plan to go again because there were a lot of people yesterday. I want to say goodbye. Say my farewells.

My attitude towards the Queen can be described by Tsvetaeva’s phrase:

“There are people of a certain era and there are eras that are embodied in people.”

The Queen is gone, the whole era is gone. I admire people who put duty first and personal second. There are not many of them in the world.”

Visit of Queen Elizabeth II to St. Petersburg, 1994

Queen and Russian Boy Scouts

The rich program of the queen’s travel around St. Petersburg and Moscow was not limited to school and sights. In the early 1990s, the first Boy Scouts appeared in Russia, among them Dmitry Shishkin, a digital media development consultant. In the year of the visit, he was a simple freshman of the journalism faculty of Moscow State University, but he still remembers this significant day, which he gladly shared with our magazine:

“Our scout squad ‘German settlement’ (Nemetskaya Sloboda) was invited to a meeting with the Queen. They told me to go to such and such a place near Vasyleevsky Spusk. There were 10 people.

I remember there was a funny incident. I left the geography class and wrote an explanatory note about where and why I need to go. Well, I simply wrote that I was going to the first meeting for Russia in the last 300 years with the British Queen. The teacher then interrupted the lecture and said: “While you are sitting here, studying, your colleague is going to meet with the British Queen.”

And there was another interesting case. I took with me the magazine ‘Echo of the Planet’, there was a photograph of the Queen on the front page. I went to the meeting, being absolutely sure that she would give me an autograph. It was only later that I was informed that royals don’t give autographs. We have been waiting for the meeting for a long time. At first it was day, then it got dark. By evening, we saw the limousine leaving, it stopped, and Prince Philip appeared. He was saying something to us, but it was quite difficult to understand him, because our conversational level was at the level of ‘well, good, okay.’ We were all students of a special school, but if you are not used to the English accent, then it is difficult to understand it.

We talked about scouting, then the Queen appeared. It didn’t really feel like anything special. It was almost an ordinary day. It may sound strange, but there was no solemnity.

A few months before the Queen’s visit, I visited England for the first time. It was cool. Who would have imagined that in the same year I would meet the Queen and the Prince, and after 3 years I would work for the BBC. And after 6 years I will move to England.”

Elizabeth and Putin

he next Russian president the Queen met in London was Vladimir Putin. In 2000, Putin visited Windsor Castle for the first time. The audience lasted no more than 30 minutes. In 2003, the second reception of the head of state was held at Buckingham Palace, which was attended by Prince Philip. As with many official receptions, Vladimir Putin was 12 minutes late for the meeting. The beginning of the meeting did not work out for another reason: the British Home Secretary’s dog barked at the Russian President. The Queen subsequently commented: “Dogs have interesting instincts.”

At the meeting, the President thanked the Queen for establishing bilateral relations. Seeing off the President of Russia, the Queen accidentally stayed for the same 12 minutes, thereby equalizing the score of a strange political game. Another short meeting between Putin and Elizabeth II took place in 2014 in France. In addition to Putin, then Barack Obama and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark met with the Queen.

Meeting of Queens Elizabeth II and President Putin. Photo: Sergey Guneev/Sputnik

Russians have surprisingly tender feelings for Elizabeth, and on the day of the queen’s death, articles appeared in the official media that called the queen “the last living titan of the 20th century” and “the grandmother of all Britain.” And this is understandable: 70 years of reign were a guarantee of permanence: the world was changing rapidly, but the British had reliable support — Queen Elizabeth.

We hope that the visit of the British monarch (already new) to Russia will someday be repeated and the seeds of friendship presented to Yeltsin will sprout with new shoots and turn into a mighty tree of friendship that future generations of British and Russians will be able to admire.

Cover photo: V. Sneerson/ITAR-TASS

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State visit by Elizabeth II to Russia

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd made a state visit to Russia from 17 to 20 October 1994, hosted by the President of Russia , Boris Yeltsin . It was the first and only visit by a reigning British monarch on Russian soil. [a]

The killing of Nicholas II and his family in 1918 prevented royal trips from being made to Russia and the Soviet Union. [4] In 1967, when Prince Philip was asked if he would go to Moscow to help ease Cold War tensions he said he would "very much like to go to Russia" although the "bastards murdered half my family". [5] In September 1973, Prince Philip attended the European Eventing Championships in Kyiv as president of the International Equestrian Federation with his daughter, Princess Anne . [6] They became the first British royal family members to visit the Soviet Union since Nicholas II's execution. [6]

In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev made an official visit to the United Kingdom in which he met the Queen. [7] The Queen and Gorbachev met again in July 1991 at the 17th G7 summit in London. [7] Despite this the Queen declined an invitation by Gorbachev to visit the Soviet Union. [4] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Prince Charles visited Saint Petersburg in May 1994 and the Queen accepted an invitation by President Boris Yeltsin to visit the country in October 1994. [8] [4]

On 15 October 1994, Prince Charles approved Jonathan Dimbleby 's biography of him titled The Prince of Wales: A Biography . [9] The book caused controversy due to Prince Charles's revelation that his father Prince Philip had pressured him into marrying Diana Spencer and that he was never in love with her. [9] Prince Charles's biography was considered to have overshadowed the visit in the British media with newspapers speculating about excerpts from the biography. [4] [10] Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd , who would attend the visit with the Queen, said that he was worried about the way in which "chattering people concerned with headlines and mass circulation" affected institutions such as the monarchy. [9] It was reported that aides travelling with the Queen spent much of the visit playing down the controversy. [4]

In contrast, Russian media focused on the Queen and her popularity in the United Kingdom with newspaper and television coverage of the visit continuing for several days. [4] Russia was described by The Washington Post as being in the midst of a "mini-monarchist boom", with some polls showing that as many as 18 per cent of Russians favoured a return to monarchy. [4] Prince Philip said monarchy had thrived in Britain due to it being apolitical while the czar "was, by constitution, the autocrat ." [4] Philip was not convinced that people in Russia would want to return to monarchies, despite the presence of monarchist parties, saying "Do the pretenders actually want to go back? Because I don't think it's an unmitigated pleasure." [4] [3]

The Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin did not return as planned from a holiday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to welcome the monarch, despite being listed in official British protocol as the one who would welcome Elizabeth II. [3] [11] Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Kozyrev was also scheduled to greet the Queen but did not return from New York where he was attending United Nations meetings on Iraq . [11] Kozyrev was reportedly upset with his British counterpart Douglas Hurd for rejecting Russia's plans to resolve the Iraqi conflict . [3]

The Queen of travel

Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022

Queen Elizabeth II leaves Fiji during a royal tour in February 1977. Serge Lemoine/Getty Images

The Queen of travel Journeys of a lifetime

By Francesca Street and Mark Oliver, CNN September 13, 2022

S he was traveling the moment she ascended to the throne, and for much of the next seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II criss-crossed the world. Newly married and still just a princess, Britain’s future monarch was in Kenya with husband Prince Philip in February 1952 when she learned of her father’s death and her new regal status.

During her reign she would visit more than 120 countries, witnessing first-hand the revolutions in global travel that shrank the world as her own influence over it diminished.

The Queen lived through the advent of the Jet Age, flew supersonic on the Concorde, saw regimes change, countries form and dissolve, the end of the British Empire and the rise of globalization.

Here are some of the most memorable travel moments from her 70 years as monarch.

November 24-25, 1953

Less than six months after she was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, Queen Elizabeth set off on her travels again. Her debut official state trip was an epic six-month tour of the Commonwealth -- the alliance of nations which were once British colonies. Traveling by air, sea and land she visited several countries, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. First stop was the North Atlantic island of Bermuda, a British territory she would visit a further four times during her reign. The trip would go on to include stops in Jamaica, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Aden (now part of Yemen), Uganda, Malta and Gibraltar.

December 19-20, 1953

At Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in June 1953, Queen Salote Tupou III of the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga won over the British public when she sat, rain-soaked, in her open carriage. They also took an interest when Elizabeth returned the visit later in the year. The two queens enjoyed an open-air feast, watched Tongan dancers and admired a tortoise that legend said was presented by explorer Captain James Cook to the King of Tonga in 1777.

December 23, 1953 – January 30, 1954

New zealand.

The Queen voyaged to New Zealand during the Antipodean summer of 1953-4. Over the course of the trip, it’s estimated that three out of every four New Zealanders got a glimpse of her. In preparation for the Queen’s visit, some New Zealand sheep were dyed in the UK flag colors of red, white and blue. The Queen returned to the country nine times over the years, including in 2002 as she marked half a century on the throne.

April 10-21, 1954

Ceylon (now sri lanka).

A visit to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, coincided with the Queen’s 28th birthday. She visited the city of Colombo where crowds joined together to sing her “Happy Birthday.” She also visited the central city of Kandy, where she watched a procession featuring a reported 140 elephants and met local chiefs.

April 8-11, 1957

The Queen had visited France as a young princess, but her first state visit as monarch was a glamorous affair. She attended the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, visited the Palace of Versailles, and dined at the Louvre with then-President Rene Coty. The Queen also laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe and visited the Scottish Church of Paris.

October 17-20, 1957

United states.

Having met President Harry S. Truman in Washington in 1951 during a visit before ascending to the throne, Elizabeth was no stranger to America when she arrived on her first trip as Queen. Her 1957 visit marked the 350th anniversary of the first permanent British settlement on the continent, in Jamestown. The monarch attended a college football game at the former Byrd Stadium in Maryland where she watched the home team lose to North Carolina. She met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the White House and later traveled to New York, where she and Prince Philip drove through the streets and admired panoramic views of the city from the Empire State Building.

February 1-16, 1961

The Queen and Prince Philip visited Pakistan in 1961, arriving in the port city of Karachi after completing a visit to India as part of a wider tour of South Asia. She drove through the streets of Karachi in an open-top car, before going on to visit Lahore, where a torchlight military tattoo took place in her honor and Prince Philip played in a game of polo.

February 26 to March 1, 1961

In Nepal, the Queen inspected troops in Kathmandu and met Gurkha ex-servicemen in Pokhara. The monarch rode on an elephant and visited the Hanuman Dhoka Palace complex in Kathmandu. She took part in the rather grim spectacle of a tiger hunt although didn’t shoot any animals herself. She instead recorded the experience on cine camera – a recording device that she often carried with her on her earlier foreign trips.

March 2-6, 1961

The Queen visited pre-revolution Iran at the end of her 1961 South Asian tour. Hosted by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, she toured ancient monuments including the ruins of Persepolis, once a capital of the Achaemenid Empire, later declared a World Heritage Site. She also saw Sheikh Lotfollah mosque in Esfahan and admired collections of the Archaeological Museum of Iran.

May 5, 1961

Vatican city.

In 1961, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Vatican. Dressed all in black, the Queen had an audience with Pope John XXIII, also attended by Prince Philip. She returned to the Vatican three more times during her reign, meeting Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis.

November 9-20, 1961

Bombing incidents in the capital Accra left officials worried about the safety of the Queen’s visit to Ghana but, after deliberation, UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan confirmed it would go ahead. During the trip, the Queen famously shared a dance with Ghana’s then-president, Kwame Nkrumah. At the height of Cold War uncertainty, this seemingly innocuous moment was seen as significant in ensuring Ghana remained affiliated to Britain and not the USSR.

May 18-28, 1965

West germany (now germany).

The Queen’s visit to West Germany and West Berlin was viewed as a symbolic gesture of goodwill in the post-World War II landscape. It was the first royal trip to German territory for more than 50 years and photographs such as one of the Queen and Prince Philip in a car driving past the Brandenburg Gate had symbolic resonance.

November 5-11, 1968

Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning British monarch to visit South America when she landed in Brazil in late 1968. During the trip, the Queen wore a striking jewelry set made of Brazilian aquamarine, gifted to her in 1953 by the Brazilian president and added to over time. The monarch also attended a football match between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and presented the winner’s trophy to Brazilian footballer Pele.

October 18-25, 1971

On the first of two trips to Turkey -- the second took place in 2008 -- the Queen visited the Gallipoli peninsula to remember the Allied soldiers who died there during World War I. The monarch also explored the ruins of the ancient Greek empire city of Ephesus. A media highlight of the visit came when she was photographed leaping ashore from a barge, after disembarking from her ship, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

February 10-15, 1972

Accompanied by Prince Philip and daughter Princess Anne, the Queen was greeted on arrival in Bangkok by a carpet of flower petals. The monarch was given a golden key to the city of Bangkok, attended a state banquet and visited Bang Pa-In Palace, the Thai royal family’s summer residence, north of the capital.

October 17-21, 1972

The Queen’s visit to Yugoslavia was her first trip to a communist country. The Central European country no longer exists -- the areas that the Queen visited are now part of Croatia. During her trip, she met Yugoslav political leader Josip Broz Tito and traveled on his famous Blue Train.

February 15-16, 1974

New hebrides (now vanuatu).

The Queen and Prince Philip visited the Pacific island archipelago of Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, in 1974. It’s said the royal couple’s visit to Vanuatu may have strengthened the belief among some locals on Tanna island that the Duke of Edinburgh was a divine being.

February 24-March 1, 1975

On her first of two visits to Mexico, the Queen toured ancient sites -- including the pyramids of Uxmal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monarch also received local crafts, met school children and attended a banquet. While she was driven through Mexico City, the Queen was showered in confetti.

February 17-20, 1979

Saudi arabia.

In 1979, the Queen became the first female head of state to visit Saudi Arabia, on a tour of Gulf States. At Riyadh Airport, she was met by King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, pictured. The outfits she wore on the trip were carefully designed in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s conservative dress code for women. The Queen arrived on a British Airways supersonic Concorde aircraft and during the visit attended camel races and toured the National Museum.

October 26-27, 1982

The Queen visited Tuvalu, a group of nine islands in the South Pacific, in 1982. Upon arrival, the Queen and Prince Philip were carried in a flower-filled canoe from sea to shore. Thirty years later, in 2012, Prince William visited Tuvalu with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, who drank a coconut from a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth on this 1982 visit.

February 26 – March 6, 1983

On a star-studded trip to the United States, the Queen toured the 20th Century-Fox studios in Hollywood with then-First Lady Nancy Reagan and met Frank Sinatra, who she’d previously met in the 1950s, at a party given in her honor. The Queen and Prince Philip also visited Yosemite National Park in California, pictured.

November 10-14, 1983

The Queen returned to Kenya in 1983 for a state visit. When she was there 31 years previously, she'd learned that her father had passed away and she had become Britain’s reigning monarch. In 1983, the Queen and Prince Philip revisited the Treetops hotel, pictured, where they were staying at the time she was told the news.

October 12-18, 1986

The Queen’s trip to China was the first -- and, so far, only -- state visit by a British monarch to China. With Prince Philip by her side, the Queen visited the Great Wall of China, pictured, as well as the Forbidden City in Beijing.

October 17-20, 1994

In 1994, in another royal first, the Queen visited Russia. Over the three-day trip, the Queen met Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, pictured here with the monarch outside St Basil’s Cathedral, as well as Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The Queen also attended the Bolshoi Ballet. In her traditional Christmas Day speech broadcast later that year, the Queen reflected on how times had changed, noting she “never thought it would be possible in [her] lifetime” to attend a service in Moscow’s famous cathedral.

March 19-25, 1995

South africa.

In 1994, after apartheid ended, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth as a republic. The following year, the Queen traveled there, in a visit designed to renew ties between the two countries. The Queen met with President Nelson Mandela, pictured, and presented him with the Order of Merit.

October 12-18, 1997

The Queen visited India for the third time in 1997, her first public engagement since Princess Diana’s funeral just weeks before. The trip marked 50 years since India’s independence from Britain. Most memorably, the monarch visited the site of the Amritsar massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, of April 13, 1919. She also expressed regret at a state banquet in New Delhi for the “distressing” episode in which British soldiers gunned down hundreds of unarmed civilians. The gesture was seen by some as inadequate. “The Queen is doing everything she can to make India like her. But so far it does not seem to be working,” wrote the UK’s Independent newspaper at the time.

October 4-15, 2002

The Queen visited Canada many times. In 2002, her trip to the North American country coincided with her Golden Jubilee festivities, celebrating 50 years of her reign. During the trip, the Queen attended an ice hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, and dropped the ceremonial puck.

March 11-16, 2006

The Queen visited Australia 16 times as Head of State. In 2006, she traveled to Melbourne to open the Commonwealth Games. She was greeted by a welcoming party in Canberra, visited the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day service in St. Andrew’s Cathedral and toured Admiralty House, the Sydney residence of the Governor-General of Australia.

May 17-20, 2011

The Queen’s trip to Dublin was the first time a British monarch had set foot in the Irish Republic since its 1922 independence. At Dublin Castle the Queen delivered a well-received speech on the history of Anglo-Irish relations. In County Tipperary, she also toured the medieval Rock of Cashel, pictured, once a seat of power for Ireland’s ancient kings.

November 26-28, 2015

From 1949 to 1951, before she was Queen, Elizabeth and Prince Philip lived in Malta. In 2015, the monarch paid her last visit to the island, touring the Grand Harbour in a Maltese fishing boat and waving to members of the British Royal Navy.

United Kingdom

In the later years of her reign, the Queen cut back on foreign travel, passing on the mantle to the younger royals. In more recent years, royal tours have also been looked at with more skeptical eyes, as Britain reckons with its colonial past.

While she didn't travel abroad in the later years of her reign, the Queen continued to vacation in the UK. Most notably, the Queen’s ties with Scotland remained strong throughout her reign and her residence there, Balmoral Castle, was a favorite refuge. It was at Balmoral that the Queen died on September 8, 2022.

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‘The Crown’ Season 5 on Netflix: Fact and fiction in the ‘Russian episode’

FACT: Blood ties between the Royal Family and the Romanovs 

Episode 6 of ‘The Crown’ Season 5 begins with the execution of the Romanov family, a fate the Windsors could easily have saved their relatives from. Scenes from 1918, in which everyone speaks pretty good Russian, are intercut with the king out hunting. It was the king’s consort, Queen Mary, as not only the makers of the film but also some historians believe - who took the decision not to send a ship to rescue the Romanovs . Nicholas II and George V were first cousins and even looked alike. Consequently, Elizabeth II, the granddaughter of George V and particularly her consort, Prince Philip, great grandson of Nicholas I, were very wary about relations with Russia and regarded the Soviet authorities as “regicides”, which is why, during her entire reign, Elizabeth II never once visited the USSR.  

FACT: The Queen’s state visit to Russia

The latest season of ‘The Crown’ covers the first half of the 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and democracy, ushered in by Boris Yeltsin, took the place of communism. It was after the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of an independent Russia that the queen paid her first visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg . It was a historic visit in every sense. She was the first British monarch to come to the Russian state. The queen’s program included all the main sights of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the opening of a special museum dedicated to British history, but this was not included in the series. 

FICTION: Reasons for visiting Russia 

In ‘The Crown’, Elizabeth II visits Russia entirely for personal reasons - she wants to reconnect with her husband, Prince Philip, who, inspired by family links with the Romanovs, had become increasingly immersed in the Orthodox faith and his Slavic roots . According to the series, the Royal couple visit Moscow exclusively for the burial of their ancestors. Prince Philip’s DNA was indeed used for the scientific examination of the remains of the Romanovs, but this was more a consequence of, rather than the reason for, the Royal visit. The interment of the bones discovered in the Urals only took place in the late 1990s, although the forensic tests - involving both Russian and British experts - continued until the 2010s.

Read more: How did Tsar Nicholas II become a saint?

FICTION: A drunken Yeltsin on a tank, on a table and in Buckingham Palace 

The chronology of ‘The Crown’ season 5 is its weakest element. For instance, Elizabeth’s wish to meet Boris Yeltsin (played by Belarusian actor Anatoliy Kotenyov), the leader of a newly-democratic Russia, arises almost immediately after she sees him on a tank near Moscow’s White House . At the same time, Prime Minister John Major tells the queen that the Russian president has long gone mad and has sunk into alcoholism, to the soundtrack of ‘Kalinka Malinka’, but this does not prevent the queen from receiving Yeltsin and his wife in her palace and then agreeing to a return visit to Moscow. In reality, Yeltsin never went to Buckingham Palace, although his meeting with Major did take place, while his alcohol problems did catch up with him a certain time after his audience with the queen. 

FACT/FICTION: Tchaikovsky, Dostoevsky and the decline of the monarchy 

Season 5 of ‘The Crown’ has turned out to be the most intimate of all and the “Russian strand” has played no small part in this. In the very first episode, Prince Charles - the sole member of the Royal Family willing to take a fresh look at the monarchy - listens with interest to a radio report on the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Elizabeth’s ill-starred sister, Margaret, gets ready for a ball to the theme from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’. This foreshadows Diana’s meeting in the final episode with the Al-Fayed family, which is to play a baleful role in the subsequent season. “One of the most memorable accounts of a long, successful marriage comes from Dostoevsky’s wife, Anna. She and Fyodor were, she said, of… contrasting character. Different temperaments. Entirely opposing views, yet they never tried to change one another,” John Major tells the queen. It’s a pity that the House of Windsor took a different route.

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Proof The Crown Season 5 Will Cover Queen Elizabeth II's Visit to Russia

The latest scenes from the crown prove that season five will cover queen elizabeth ii's visit to russia in 1994. check out the details here..

Her Majesty is heading to Russia in season five. 

Production for season five of The Crown —starring Imelda Staunton , Jonathan Pryce , Lesley Manville and Jonny Lee Miller —is currently underway. And in a photograph taken of the set, it's clear that the next installment of the period drama will cover Queen Elizabeth II 's state visit to Russia in 1994.

Staunton, who stars as Queen Elizabeth II, alongside Pryce as Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh, is seen wearing a mustard yellow dress and fur coat, along with a matching black hat and her signature purse in the set snap. 

The outfit is a recreation of the one that the Queen wore at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow while she inspected the Russian service personnel.

In the scene, the characters are inside a royal limousine, while driving through a Russian City in convoy with diplomats and police escorts. Extras were also seen lining the street and waving flags as they passed by. 

The Queen's visit back in October 1994, lasted three days and marked the first—and only—time a ruling British monarch had visited Russia.

As for the Royal family's stance amid Russia's involvement in the Ukraine crisis? In a tweet on March 1, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  shared that he and his wife Olena are "grateful" to Britain's royal family for voicing their support for the country.

"Olena and I are grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge @RoyalFamily that at this crucial time, when Ukraine is courageously opposing Russia's invasion, they stand by our country and support our brave citizens. Good will triumph," he wrote.

Netflix first announced that Staunton would star as the Queen for the fifth season of the drama series back in January 2020.

"Imelda is an astonishing talent and will be a fantastic successor to Claire Foy and Olivia Colman ," Peter Morgan , creator, writer and executive producer said in a statement at the time. 

Imelda will join Elizabeth Debicki  as Princess Diana  and  Dominic West  as Prince Charles .

The Crown season five is set to premiere later this year.

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