I am writing this article in honour and on the occasion of the recently deceased British Queen Elizabeth II. Although I have lived in Great Britain for twenty years, which has also become my homeland over the years, I have not had the honour of being in the Queen's vicinity. That's why I decided to write an article about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and my late president Josip Broz Tito.
Queen Elizabeth II met President Tito in London in 1953. It was Tito's first visit to a foreign country since Yugoslavia’s break with the Soviet Union in 1948. Tito travelled to Great Britain on his ship “Galeb”, and in London he was warmly welcomed by the Queen's husband Prince Philip and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After a meeting with Prime Minister Churchill at the Prime Minister's residence of 10 Downing Street, President Tito went to meet the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. I have not been able to find information about that first meeting with Queen Elizabeth, but I believe that it took place in mutual understanding and satisfaction on both sides.
Queen Elizabeth returned the visit to Tito and came to Yugoslavia on October 17, 1972. It was also her first visit to a socialist state. On that occasion, both Queen Elizabeth and President Tito showed that countries can have strong international, friendly ties despite the different policies they foster. The Queen first visited Belgrade, where a very warm welcome was organized and after two days, she came to Croatia by train and visited Đakovo, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Pula and the Brijuni islands. Wherever the queen stayed, she was greeted extremely warmly, starting with the dignitaries she met and all the way to the people who greeted her on the streets.
In her speech in Zagreb, Queen Elizabeth said the following:
"The impressive development of Zagreb over the last 25 years reflects the energetic determination of all its citizens to build a happy and prosperous nation. As a maritime nation, Britain probably had stronger ties with Croatia and its long coastline for centuries than with any other part of Yugoslavia. Today, new contacts are being created as more and more Britons come to enjoy the hospitality and sun of your resorts."
On the islands of Brijuni, Tito also drove the queen in his Cadillac, and she gave him some Shetland ponies, whose descendants are still on the islands today. On the video recordings of the meeting between President Tito and Queen Elizabeth II, it is evident that Tito did not bow to the queen, but it is also clear that she did not hold it against him.
Kristina
Thursday, September 15th, 2022
Kraljica Elizabeta II i predsjednik Tito
Ovaj članak pišem u čast i povodom nedavno preminule britanske kraljice Elizabete II. Iako već dvadest godina živim u Velikoj Britaniji, koja je tokom godina također postala moja domovina, nisam se imala čast naći u kraljičinoj blizini. Zato sam odlučila napisati članak o odnosu kraljice Elizabete II i mog pokojnog predsjednika Josipa Broza Tita.
Kraljica Elizabeta II je upoznala predsjednika Tita 1953. godine u Londonu. Bila je to prva Titova posjeta stranoj zemlji od raskida odnosa sa Sovjetskim Savezom 1948. Tito je u Veliku Britaniju otputovao na svom brodu “Galeb”, a u Londonu ga je čekao srdačni doček u kojem su bili kraljičin suprug princ Filip i tadašnji britanski premijer Winston Churchill. Nakon sastanka sa premijerom Churchillom u rezidenciji premijera na Downing street 10, predsjednik Tito otišao je susresti poglavara zemlje, kraljicu Elizabetu II. O tom prvom susretu sa kraljicom Elizabetom nisam uspjela naći informacije, ali vjerujem da je protekao u međusobnom razumijevanju i zadovoljstvu sa obije strane.
Kraljica Elizabeta uzvratila je posjet Titu i došla je u Jugoslaviju 17. listopada 1972. To je ujedno bio njezin prvi posjet jednoj socijalističkoj državi. Tom su prilikom i kraljica Elizabeta i predsjednik Tito pokazali da zemlje mogu imati snažne internacionalne, prijateljske veze usprkos različitim politikma koje njeguju. Kraljica je najprije posjetila Beograd u kojem je organziran vrlo topao doček. Nakon dva dana došla je vlakom u Hrvatsku i posjetila Ðakovo, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Pulu i otočje Brijuni. Gdje god je kraljica boravila svugdje je iznimno toplo dočekana počevši od uglednika sa kojima se susretala pa sve do ljudi koji su ju pozdravljali na ulicama.
U svom govoru u Zagrebu kraljica Elizabeta je rekla slijedeće:
"Impresivan razvitak Zagreba u posljednjih 25 godina odražava energičnu odlučnost svih njegovih građana da izgrade sretnu i naprednu naciju. Kao pomorska nacija, Britanija je stoljećima vjerojatno imala čvršće veze s Hrvatskom i njezinom dugom obalom nego s bilo kojim drugim dijelom Jugoslavije. Danas se stvaraju novi kontakti kako sve više i više Britanaca dolazi uživati u gostoprimstvu i suncu vaših ljetovališta"
Na otočju Brijuni Tito je kraljicu vozio i u svom kadilaku, a ona je njemu poklonila šetlandske ponije čiji su potomci i danas na otočju. Na video snimcima susreta predsjednika Tita i Kraljice Elizabete II vidljivo je da se Tito nije klanjao kraljici, ali očito je da mu ona to nije zamjerala.
Kristina
Četvrtak, 15. rujna 2022.