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Queen Elizabeth II, who died earlier today, was probably the best-travelled monarch in history. In her 70 years as UK monarch, Her Maj apparently travelled to at least 117 different countries – and covered over a million miles, according to The Telegraph.
The Queen travelled for loads of reasons, from ceremonial openings to official state visits, but she got around so much primarily because she was head of state for the Commonwealth: a political association of countries that were largely conquered by Britain back when it was an imperial power.
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In fact, Elizabeth II wasn’t just the Queen of the United Kingdom: during her time on the throne, she reigned over a total of 32 sovereign countries. Having started her reign in the final years of the British Empire, she ruled over a number of former British colonies as they became independent sovereign states. Many, but not all, later cut ties with the monarchy and became republics.
Queen Elizabeth II reigned, at various points, over Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Ceylon (later Sri Lanka), Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tanganyika (later Tanzania), Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda and, of course, the UK. She was also proclaimed as queen by Rhodesia, the predecessor to Zimbabwe.
By the time of her death, she was still the queen of 15 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the UK. She was the Queen of Barbados until November 2021, when the Caribbean nation became a republic.
As you’d expect, the Queen visited all of these places – and plenty more – during her 70-year reign. Here is a full list of all the countries and states the Queen travelled to during her reign, and the dates when she visited.
Algeria (1980)
Antigua and Barbuda (1966, 1977, 1985)
Australia (1953, 1963, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2011)
Austria (1969)
Bahamas (1966, 1977, 1985, 1994)
Bahrain (1979)
Bangladesh (1983)
Barbados (1966, 1977, 1985, 1989)
Belgium (1966, 1993, 1998, 2007)
Belize (1985, 1994)
Bermuda (1953, 1975, 1983, 1994, 2009)
Botswana (1979)
Brazil (1968)
British Virgin Islands (1966, 1977)
Brunei (1998)
Canada (1957, 1959, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2010)
Cayman Islands (1983, 1994)
Chile (1968)
China (1986)
Cook Islands (1974)
Cyprus (1961, 1983, 1984, 1993)
Czech Republic (1996)
Denmark (1957, 1979)
Dominica (1966, 1985, 1994)
Estonia (2006)
Ethiopia (1965)
Fiji (1953, 1963, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1982)
Finland (1976, 1994)
France (1957, 1972, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2014)
Gambia (1961)
Germany (1990, 1992, 2004, 2015)
Ghana (1961, 1999)
Grenada (1966, 1985)
Guyana (1966, 1994)
Hungary (1993)
Iceland (1990)
India (1961, 1983, 1997)
Indonesia (1974)
Iran (1961)
Ireland (2011)
Italy (1961, 1980, 2000, 2014)
Jamaica (1953, 1966, 1975, 1983, 1994, 2002)
Japan (1975)
Jordan (1984)
Kenya (1952, 1972, 1983, 1991)
Kiribati (1982)
Kuwait (1979)
Latvia (2006)
Liberia (1961)
Libya (1954)
Lithuania (2006)
Luxembourg (1976)
Malawi (1979)
Malaysia (1972, 1989, 1998)
Maldives (1972)
Malta (1954, 1967, 1992, 2005, 2015)
Mauritius (1972)
Mexico (1975, 1983)
Morocco (1980)
Mozambique (1999)
Namibia (1991)
Nauru (1982)
Nepal (1961, 1986)
Netherlands (1958, 1988, 2007)
New Zealand (1953, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1995, 2002)
Nigeria (1956, 2003)
Norway (1955, 1981, 2001)
Oman (1979, 2010)
Pakistan (1961, 1997)
Panama (1953)
Papua New Guinea (1974, 1977, 1982)
Poland (1996)
Portugal (1957, 1985)
Qatar (1979)
Russia (1994)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (1985)
Saint Lucia (1966, 1985)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1966, 1985)
Samoa (1977)
Saudi Arabia (1979)
Seychelles (1972)
Sierra Leone (1961)
Singapore (1972, 1989)
Solomon Islands (1982)
South Africa (1995, 1999)
South Korea (1999)
Slovakia (2008)
Slovenia (2008)
Spain (1988)
Sri Lanka (1954, 1981)
Sudan (1965)
Sweden (1956, 1983)
Switzerland (1980)
Tanzania (1979)
Thailand (1972, 1996)
Tonga (1953, 1970, 1977)
Trinidad & Tobago (1966, 1985, 2009)
Tunisia (1980)
Turkey (1971, 2008)
Turks and Caicos Islands (1966)
Tuvalu (1982)
Uganda (1954, 2007)
UAE (1979, 2010)
USA (1957, 1976, 1983, 1991, 2007)
Vatican City (1961, 1980, 2000, 2014)
West Germany (1965, 1978, 1987)
Yugoslavia (1972)
Zambia (1979)
Zimbabwe (1991)
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