Queen Elizabeth II's Visits to Turkey

Elizabeth II, who died yesterday evening, ruled the United Kingdom for 70 years as Queen of 16 sovereign states following the death of her father George VI on February 6, 1952 (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; b. April 21, 1926). 

In addition to the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth was Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Saint Kitts and Nevis, represented by Governors-General. The 16 countries of which she was Queen are known as Commonwealth countries and their total population is over 130 million.

Queen Elizabeth II of England, who is known to have visited a total of 117 countries in the world, visited Turkey three times in 1961, 1971 and 2008. 

The First Visit of Queen Elizabeth II of England to Turkey (1961):

The Queen wanted to visit Ankara on March 6, 1961 as part of her return journey from Tehran to London after her trip to Iran, albeit for a short time. At Esenboğa Airport, she met with the then Chief of General Staff/President General Cemal Gürsel. 

It was claimed that the main purpose of this visit was to prevent the execution of the possible execution verdicts against Adnan Menderes and his friends in the Yassıada courts. During a 40-minute one-on-one meeting with General Gürsel at the airport, the Queen asked Gürsel not to execute a possible death sentence that might be issued by the court. 

Thus, the Esenboğa visit was the first State Visit of the Queen of England to Turkey.

The Second Visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Turkey (1971):

In response to President Cevdet Sunay's visit to the United Kingdom in 1967, the Queen of England paid a state visit to Turkey between October 18-25, 1971.

On October 18, 1971, Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Turkey and was accompanied by her husband Philip and daughter Anne. Queen Elizabeth started her visit to Turkey from Ankara. 

On the evening of the first day of the visit, President Cevdet Sunay hosted an official dinner in honor of the Queen at Çankaya Mansion. Queen Elizabeth, who made a speech after Sunay at this dinner, emphasized the following:

"... The world is constantly changing. But there are very few countries that have undergone such sudden changes as Turkey. Since the First World War, the entire social and economic structure of the Turkish nation has been transformed under the genius of Kemal Atatürk. This was a tremendous achievement on his account. But the loyalty and support he received from the people was the most important factor in achieving this success...."

On October 19, the Queen visited Anıtkabir at 10.15 am and wrote the following line in the special book of Anıtkabir

"With endless respect to the Turkish nation's Ata, valiant in war and a loyal friend in peace..."

Afterwards, the Queen visited the Atatürk Museum and took a close interest in Atatürk's personal belongings, "I didn't need to come to Turkey to know that Atatürk was a great man, but this is the first time I have seen him so handsome. Especially his eyes and eyebrows are very impressive. He was careful with his clothes and had an elegant taste. Especially the frock coat suits him very well...".

Afterwards, the Queen continued her official visits in Ankara. In the afternoon of the same day, she had a 50-minute long meeting with İsmet İnönü, the President of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and a historical figure, at the Glass Pavilion in Çankaya, where the historical friendship between Turkey and the United Kingdom and the developments in the world were emphasized.

On October 20, the Queen visited the BMC Factory, a Turkish-British joint venture, in Izmir, followed by visits to Kuşadası, Ephesus and Selçuk on October 21. 

On October 22, she sailed from Izmir to Çanakkale on the Royal yacht and visited Çanakkale Martyrs' Cemeteries on the Gallipoli Peninsula. First of all, the Queen wrote in the Book of Honor of the Çanakkale Martyrs' Monument, "A monument worthy of those who fell in the battles of Gallipoli, where two nations gained an eternal respect for each other". 

After completing her visit to Gallipoli, the Queen sent a telegram to the President of France, the Governors-General of Australia and New Zealand, and the President of the Gallipoli Association in England, conveying her feelings. Queen Elizabeth said in her telegram;

"I spent this day in Gallipoli, amongst the tranquil beaches, hills and monuments. My mind transported me to a different image of 1915, when so many heroes sacrificed their lives in the face of an honorable and courageous adversary. Today, together with my wife, daughter and representatives of the Turkish government, I was proud to pay my respects to all those who heroically sacrificed their lives here 56 years ago."

On October 23, the Queen arrived in Istanbul and visited the Hagia Sophia, followed by the Topkapi Museum and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. The Queen and her entourage left Turkey on October 25. 

Coming to Turkey at a time when the March 12, 1971 military memorandum was still hot, the Queen completely changed the political agenda in Turkey. It was seen that domestic political problems in Turkey were frozen for a while. The attention and intensity of the country was focused on the Queen of England. State officials mobilized to host Queen Elizabeth II in the best possible way and changed the course of domestic politics in Turkey. It even contributed to prolonging the life of the Nihat Erim Government, which almost collapsed.

The Turkish people responded to the Queen's visit with intense interest and shows of love. The Queen, who was welcomed with an enthusiastic crowd everywhere, was very pleased with the attention shown to her. 

Queen Elizabeth of England's Third Visit to Turkey (2008):

After an interval of 37 years, the Queen visited Turkey again on May 13-16, 2008 at the invitation of then President Abdullah Gül.

During her visit, Queen Elizabeth II spoke at the dinner given in her honor by Gül at the Çankaya Mansion; 

During her visit to Turkey in 1971, Queen Elizabeth II said that she had witnessed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's tremendous achievement in transforming a country with rich and deep-rooted traditions into a modern, enlightened and democratic state. "The great strides that Turkey will continue to make to become the confident, dynamic democracy it is today were unimaginable at the time. In this new century, we can celebrate that the ties between our countries are stronger than ever."

Elizabeth II visited Anıtkabir and laid a wreath at Atatürk's mausoleum, writing in the Anıtkabir special book, "It is a great honor for me to pay my respects to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a dear friend of the United Kingdom and one of the greatest figures of modern history." 

The aircraft carrier "HMS Illustrious" of the British Navy, which came to Istanbul to accompany the Queen and did not fly the Turkish flag, drew attention with the fact that it was anchored in the same place as the British ship that symbolized the occupation of Istanbul in 1918. On the last day of her visit to Turkey, Queen Elizabeth II, who also visited Bursa during her visit, hosted a reception in honor of President Abdullah Gül in the hangar of this ship anchored in Istanbul. 

Here, Gül was given the Order of the Garter and made a Knight of the Garter. After the visit, there were some criticisms in the Turkish press that this order was a title of Crusader knighthood and that it would have been more appropriate for Gül not to accept such an order as President.

After completing her 4-day visit to Turkey, Queen Elizabeth flew from Istanbul to the UK on May 16.

On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II of England flew to eternity and "may she rest in peace!" 

References:

http://maviboncuk.blogspot.com/2012/06/hm-queen-elizabeth-ii-visits-to-turkey.html

Şerif Demir, “Kraliçe II. Elizabeth’in 1971 Yılındaki Türkiye Ziyareti”, Journal of Anglo-Turkish Relations (JATR), Volume 1, Number 1, January 2020, pp. 58-66.

Kraliçe II. Elizabeth’in Türkiye Ziyareti — 1971, https://medium.com/türkiye/kraliçe-ii-elizabethin-türkiye-ziyareti-1971-e567cf666af8/

Asım Ümit, “Türkiye’den bir kraliçe geçti…”, 19 Mayıs 2008, https://asimania.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/turkiyeden-bir-kralice-gecti/