queen elizabeth russia visit

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 .

In October 1994, president Boris Yeltsin hosted Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Russia. It was the first—and only—time a reigning British monarch made a state visit to the country, and the historic trip is depicted in the fifth season of The Crown . The tour followed Yeltsin's 1992 visit to the UK, during which he had lunch at Buckingham Palace. At the time, British officials considered Queen Elizabeth's state visit to Russia "one of the queen's most important foreign trips," according to the Washington Post .

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

queen elizabeth ii and russian president boris yeltsin at buckingham palace also pictured are the duke of edinburgh and mrs naina yeltsin

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.

queen elizabeth ii state visit to russia

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.

visit of queen elisabeth ii to moscow, bolshoi theatre

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 ii and prince philip visit moscow, russia on october 18, 1994

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, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. 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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Queen Elizabeth Makes Historic Visit to Russia

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MOSCOW — 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.