Why Queen Elizabeth II Has Not Officially Toured These Countries

Queen Elizabeth II has been preparing Prince Charles for his eventual ascension to the throne. The monarch has slowed down in recent years by turning over some of the duties and responsibilities that she previously handled to her eldest son, such as foreign visitations.

These days, Queen Elizabeth II no longer makes foreign visits. Her last overseas tour happened in 2015, when she visited the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, together with Prince Philip, according to Express.

But before she handed over the duty to Charles, Her Majesty was one globe-trotting head of state. According to estimates, she traveled around a million miles in total doing foreign tours and visited 106 countries.

Because of her long reign, she’s regarded as the most widely traveled monarch in history. But of course there’s still a handle of countries that the monarch never set foot on. Here are some of them.

Cuba

The reason Queen Elizabeth II never traveled to Cuba was because of travel restrictions for westerners on the Caribbean island nation, which was put in place after the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, Prince Charles already visited the island early this year, which set the record as the first official visit by a member of royalty.

Israel

The Queen never traveled to Israel due to political tensions in the region, specifically between the country and the Palestine Authority. However, his grandson, Prince William, officially visited the Middle Eastern country in 2018, becoming the first member of the British royal family to do so.

Greece

While Greece is a famous tourist destination, the Queen never went there on an official visit. The reason might be Prince Philip’s father, Prince Andrew of Greece.

“Prince Philip’s father Prince Andrew was convicted of treason and nearly got the death penalty,” Evangelos Lolos explained on Quora. “As a result, his family, including the one-year-old baby Philip had to flee from Greece on a British warship and relocate to France.”

But despite this history, Philip and the young Elizabeth did visit Greece. However, it happened in 1950, before her coronation, so the trip wasn’t an official one.

Argentina

Her Majesty hasn’t visited yet the South American country of Argentina. The reason is that Argentina invaded the British territory of Falkland Islands in 1982, which resulted in the Falklands War. However, Prince Philip and Princess Anne previously visited the country.

Other Countries

Even as the most traveled head of state, Queen Elizabeth II can’t be expected to visit every country in the world. She has not visited the European countries Andorra, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Montenegro, Georgia, Monaco and Ukraine. She has also not visited the Asian countries of Bhutan, the Philippines, Vietnam and North Korea.