Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Mar 21, 2023

Mikhail Gorbachev To Lady Gaga: Queen Elizabeth's Most Notable Meetings

Mikhail Gorbachev To Lady Gaga: Queen Elizabeth's Most Notable Meetings

Queen Elizabeth II Death: The queen was the first British monarch in history to visit Russia, when she was hosted by president Boris Yeltsin in 1994.

From a string of US presidents to Lady Gaga, Queen Elizabeth II met leading political and artistic personalities from around the globe during her record-breaking time on the throne.

Some were despised dictators, others world-famous guitarists she made polite conversation with. Regardless of the personalities, she always kept her composure.

Here are some of her famous meetings:


West to East


After her accession in 1952, the queen met all sitting US presidents with the exception of Lyndon B Johnson. That spans 14 heads of state, from Dwight D Eisenhower to Joe Biden.

During the Cold War, however, her meetings with leaders from the Soviet bloc were few and far between.

In 1956, Elizabeth received Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who was overseeing a political thaw after replacing Joseph Stalin.

But it would be more than three decades later, in 1989, that Mikhail Gorbachev would be invited for an audience. It came after he launched a policy of "perestroika" (restructuring) which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The queen was the first British monarch in history to visit Russia, when she was hosted by president Boris Yeltsin in 1994.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met the queen during a state visit to Britain in 2003.

War and peace


Mother Teresa and Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai were just two of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates the queen met.

She had a particularly warm relationship with South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, one of the few who called her by her first name.

But the head of state also received the leaders of some of the world's most repressive regimes.

They included Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seko, who paid a state visit to Britain in 1973 and Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in 1994.

Romania's dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was invited by the government -- and to the queen's reported displeasure -- in 1978.

She is said to have hidden in a bush in the grounds of Buckingham Palace while walking her corgis to avoid talking to him.

Historic handshake


On June 27, 2012 the British monarch exchanged a historic handshake in Belfast with Martin McGuinness, a former Irish Republican Army paramilitary commander who had become number two in the Sinn Fein party, which does not recognise her sovereignty over Northern Ireland.

It was a gesture that would have been unimaginable just a few years earlier amid the bitterness of the deadly conflict in Northern Ireland.

The IRA had assassinated her relative, Lord Louis Mountbatten, in 1979.

"Hello, are you well?" McGuinness -- by then deputy first minister in the power-sharing government in Belfast -- asked the monarch.

"Thank you very much. I am still alive anyway," she responded.

The photograph of their handshake, which came 14 years after the Good Friday peace accords that largely ended the three decades of conflict, was beamed around the world as a historic moment of reconciliation.

Artistic encounters


The monarch also met some of the biggest artists of the 20th and 21st centuries: opera singer Maria Callas; actors Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot; ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev; and singer Frank Sinatra.

In her autobiography, British crime writer Agatha Christie wrote that buying a car and dining with the queen at Buckingham Palace had been the two most exciting moments of her life.

She remembered "her kindness and easiness in talking" and described her as "so small, and slender, in her simple dark red velvet gown with one beautiful jewel".

Spice up your life


From Michael Jackson, when he was still an adolescent, to Lady Gaga and Madonna, she also encountered some of the world's biggest pop stars, sometimes giving rise to amusing scenes.

In 1997, with perfectly coiffed hair and white gloves, she was photographed shaking hands with the Spice Girls, wearing thigh-high split gowns and showing off plunging necklines.

In 2005, at a pop star bash at Buckingham Palace, the queen asked guitarist Eric Clapton, "Have you been playing a long time?".

"It must be 45 years now," replied Clapton, 59 at the time.

 Bond girl


Elizabeth also crossed paths with fictional characters.

In 2012 she took part in a spoof video with James Bond star Daniel Craig in which she appeared to parachute into the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

She met her fictional double, actress Helen Mirren, on several occasions. Mirren won an Oscar for having played the title role in "The Queen" in 2006.

The real monarch made Mirren a dame in 2003.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
BVI Freedom Song
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
Hello Dolly
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
A brief banking situation report
Yes He Can
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Unforgettable
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
The Lord's Prayer
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Siyahamba
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
A Mississippian man, who was once considered a “ticking time bomb,” has lost a whopping 165 kilograms! What motivated this incredible transformation?
Ramblin' Rose
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
Fitness scam
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Common, John Legend - Glory
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
BVI Freedom Song
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, has provided a list of five areas that he believes the black community needs to address.
Hello Dolly
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
×