queen visit to moscow

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 .

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

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.

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.

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 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, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. 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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The Queen of travel

Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022

Queen Elizabeth II leaves Fiji during a royal tour in February 1977. Serge Lemoine/Getty Images

The Queen of travel Journeys of a lifetime

By Francesca Street and Mark Oliver, CNN September 13, 2022

S he was traveling the moment she ascended to the throne, and for much of the next seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II criss-crossed the world. Newly married and still just a princess, Britain’s future monarch was in Kenya with husband Prince Philip in February 1952 when she learned of her father’s death and her new regal status.

During her reign she would visit more than 120 countries, witnessing first-hand the revolutions in global travel that shrank the world as her own influence over it diminished.

The Queen lived through the advent of the Jet Age, flew supersonic on the Concorde, saw regimes change, countries form and dissolve, the end of the British Empire and the rise of globalization.

Here are some of the most memorable travel moments from her 70 years as monarch.

November 24-25, 1953

Less than six months after she was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, Queen Elizabeth set off on her travels again. Her debut official state trip was an epic six-month tour of the Commonwealth -- the alliance of nations which were once British colonies. Traveling by air, sea and land she visited several countries, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. First stop was the North Atlantic island of Bermuda, a British territory she would visit a further four times during her reign. The trip would go on to include stops in Jamaica, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Aden (now part of Yemen), Uganda, Malta and Gibraltar.

December 19-20, 1953

At Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in June 1953, Queen Salote Tupou III of the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga won over the British public when she sat, rain-soaked, in her open carriage. They also took an interest when Elizabeth returned the visit later in the year. The two queens enjoyed an open-air feast, watched Tongan dancers and admired a tortoise that legend said was presented by explorer Captain James Cook to the King of Tonga in 1777.

December 23, 1953 – January 30, 1954

New zealand.

The Queen voyaged to New Zealand during the Antipodean summer of 1953-4. Over the course of the trip, it’s estimated that three out of every four New Zealanders got a glimpse of her. In preparation for the Queen’s visit, some New Zealand sheep were dyed in the UK flag colors of red, white and blue. The Queen returned to the country nine times over the years, including in 2002 as she marked half a century on the throne.

April 10-21, 1954

Ceylon (now sri lanka).

A visit to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, coincided with the Queen’s 28th birthday. She visited the city of Colombo where crowds joined together to sing her “Happy Birthday.” She also visited the central city of Kandy, where she watched a procession featuring a reported 140 elephants and met local chiefs.

April 8-11, 1957

The Queen had visited France as a young princess, but her first state visit as monarch was a glamorous affair. She attended the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, visited the Palace of Versailles, and dined at the Louvre with then-President Rene Coty. The Queen also laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe and visited the Scottish Church of Paris.

October 17-20, 1957

United states.

Having met President Harry S. Truman in Washington in 1951 during a visit before ascending to the throne, Elizabeth was no stranger to America when she arrived on her first trip as Queen. Her 1957 visit marked the 350th anniversary of the first permanent British settlement on the continent, in Jamestown. The monarch attended a college football game at the former Byrd Stadium in Maryland where she watched the home team lose to North Carolina. She met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the White House and later traveled to New York, where she and Prince Philip drove through the streets and admired panoramic views of the city from the Empire State Building.

February 1-16, 1961

The Queen and Prince Philip visited Pakistan in 1961, arriving in the port city of Karachi after completing a visit to India as part of a wider tour of South Asia. She drove through the streets of Karachi in an open-top car, before going on to visit Lahore, where a torchlight military tattoo took place in her honor and Prince Philip played in a game of polo.

February 26 to March 1, 1961

In Nepal, the Queen inspected troops in Kathmandu and met Gurkha ex-servicemen in Pokhara. The monarch rode on an elephant and visited the Hanuman Dhoka Palace complex in Kathmandu. She took part in the rather grim spectacle of a tiger hunt although didn’t shoot any animals herself. She instead recorded the experience on cine camera – a recording device that she often carried with her on her earlier foreign trips.

March 2-6, 1961

The Queen visited pre-revolution Iran at the end of her 1961 South Asian tour. Hosted by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, she toured ancient monuments including the ruins of Persepolis, once a capital of the Achaemenid Empire, later declared a World Heritage Site. She also saw Sheikh Lotfollah mosque in Esfahan and admired collections of the Archaeological Museum of Iran.

May 5, 1961

Vatican city.

In 1961, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Vatican. Dressed all in black, the Queen had an audience with Pope John XXIII, also attended by Prince Philip. She returned to the Vatican three more times during her reign, meeting Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis.

November 9-20, 1961

Bombing incidents in the capital Accra left officials worried about the safety of the Queen’s visit to Ghana but, after deliberation, UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan confirmed it would go ahead. During the trip, the Queen famously shared a dance with Ghana’s then-president, Kwame Nkrumah. At the height of Cold War uncertainty, this seemingly innocuous moment was seen as significant in ensuring Ghana remained affiliated to Britain and not the USSR.

May 18-28, 1965

West germany (now germany).

The Queen’s visit to West Germany and West Berlin was viewed as a symbolic gesture of goodwill in the post-World War II landscape. It was the first royal trip to German territory for more than 50 years and photographs such as one of the Queen and Prince Philip in a car driving past the Brandenburg Gate had symbolic resonance.

November 5-11, 1968

Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning British monarch to visit South America when she landed in Brazil in late 1968. During the trip, the Queen wore a striking jewelry set made of Brazilian aquamarine, gifted to her in 1953 by the Brazilian president and added to over time. The monarch also attended a football match between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and presented the winner’s trophy to Brazilian footballer Pele.

October 18-25, 1971

On the first of two trips to Turkey -- the second took place in 2008 -- the Queen visited the Gallipoli peninsula to remember the Allied soldiers who died there during World War I. The monarch also explored the ruins of the ancient Greek empire city of Ephesus. A media highlight of the visit came when she was photographed leaping ashore from a barge, after disembarking from her ship, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

February 10-15, 1972

Accompanied by Prince Philip and daughter Princess Anne, the Queen was greeted on arrival in Bangkok by a carpet of flower petals. The monarch was given a golden key to the city of Bangkok, attended a state banquet and visited Bang Pa-In Palace, the Thai royal family’s summer residence, north of the capital.

October 17-21, 1972

The Queen’s visit to Yugoslavia was her first trip to a communist country. The Central European country no longer exists -- the areas that the Queen visited are now part of Croatia. During her trip, she met Yugoslav political leader Josip Broz Tito and traveled on his famous Blue Train.

February 15-16, 1974

New hebrides (now vanuatu).

The Queen and Prince Philip visited the Pacific island archipelago of Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, in 1974. It’s said the royal couple’s visit to Vanuatu may have strengthened the belief among some locals on Tanna island that the Duke of Edinburgh was a divine being.

February 24-March 1, 1975

On her first of two visits to Mexico, the Queen toured ancient sites -- including the pyramids of Uxmal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monarch also received local crafts, met school children and attended a banquet. While she was driven through Mexico City, the Queen was showered in confetti.

February 17-20, 1979

Saudi arabia.

In 1979, the Queen became the first female head of state to visit Saudi Arabia, on a tour of Gulf States. At Riyadh Airport, she was met by King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, pictured. The outfits she wore on the trip were carefully designed in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s conservative dress code for women. The Queen arrived on a British Airways supersonic Concorde aircraft and during the visit attended camel races and toured the National Museum.

October 26-27, 1982

The Queen visited Tuvalu, a group of nine islands in the South Pacific, in 1982. Upon arrival, the Queen and Prince Philip were carried in a flower-filled canoe from sea to shore. Thirty years later, in 2012, Prince William visited Tuvalu with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, who drank a coconut from a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth on this 1982 visit.

February 26 – March 6, 1983

On a star-studded trip to the United States, the Queen toured the 20th Century-Fox studios in Hollywood with then-First Lady Nancy Reagan and met Frank Sinatra, who she’d previously met in the 1950s, at a party given in her honor. The Queen and Prince Philip also visited Yosemite National Park in California, pictured.

November 10-14, 1983

The Queen returned to Kenya in 1983 for a state visit. When she was there 31 years previously, she'd learned that her father had passed away and she had become Britain’s reigning monarch. In 1983, the Queen and Prince Philip revisited the Treetops hotel, pictured, where they were staying at the time she was told the news.

October 12-18, 1986

The Queen’s trip to China was the first -- and, so far, only -- state visit by a British monarch to China. With Prince Philip by her side, the Queen visited the Great Wall of China, pictured, as well as the Forbidden City in Beijing.

October 17-20, 1994

In 1994, in another royal first, the Queen visited Russia. Over the three-day trip, the Queen met Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, pictured here with the monarch outside St Basil’s Cathedral, as well as Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The Queen also attended the Bolshoi Ballet. In her traditional Christmas Day speech broadcast later that year, the Queen reflected on how times had changed, noting she “never thought it would be possible in [her] lifetime” to attend a service in Moscow’s famous cathedral.

March 19-25, 1995

South africa.

In 1994, after apartheid ended, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth as a republic. The following year, the Queen traveled there, in a visit designed to renew ties between the two countries. The Queen met with President Nelson Mandela, pictured, and presented him with the Order of Merit.

October 12-18, 1997

The Queen visited India for the third time in 1997, her first public engagement since Princess Diana’s funeral just weeks before. The trip marked 50 years since India’s independence from Britain. Most memorably, the monarch visited the site of the Amritsar massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, of April 13, 1919. She also expressed regret at a state banquet in New Delhi for the “distressing” episode in which British soldiers gunned down hundreds of unarmed civilians. The gesture was seen by some as inadequate. “The Queen is doing everything she can to make India like her. But so far it does not seem to be working,” wrote the UK’s Independent newspaper at the time.

October 4-15, 2002

The Queen visited Canada many times. In 2002, her trip to the North American country coincided with her Golden Jubilee festivities, celebrating 50 years of her reign. During the trip, the Queen attended an ice hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, and dropped the ceremonial puck.

March 11-16, 2006

The Queen visited Australia 16 times as Head of State. In 2006, she traveled to Melbourne to open the Commonwealth Games. She was greeted by a welcoming party in Canberra, visited the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day service in St. Andrew’s Cathedral and toured Admiralty House, the Sydney residence of the Governor-General of Australia.

May 17-20, 2011

The Queen’s trip to Dublin was the first time a British monarch had set foot in the Irish Republic since its 1922 independence. At Dublin Castle the Queen delivered a well-received speech on the history of Anglo-Irish relations. In County Tipperary, she also toured the medieval Rock of Cashel, pictured, once a seat of power for Ireland’s ancient kings.

November 26-28, 2015

From 1949 to 1951, before she was Queen, Elizabeth and Prince Philip lived in Malta. In 2015, the monarch paid her last visit to the island, touring the Grand Harbour in a Maltese fishing boat and waving to members of the British Royal Navy.

United Kingdom

In the later years of her reign, the Queen cut back on foreign travel, passing on the mantle to the younger royals. In more recent years, royal tours have also been looked at with more skeptical eyes, as Britain reckons with its colonial past.

While she didn't travel abroad in the later years of her reign, the Queen continued to vacation in the UK. Most notably, the Queen’s ties with Scotland remained strong throughout her reign and her residence there, Balmoral Castle, was a favorite refuge. It was at Balmoral that the Queen died on September 8, 2022.

Queen Accepts Invitation to Visit Soviet Union

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Queen Elizabeth II will make the first visit to the Soviet Union by a British monarch since the 1917 Bolshevik revolution after accepting an invitation today from Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

Buckingham Palace said she agreed to a visit but indicated to the Soviet leader over lunch at Windsor Castle that it could take some years to arrange.

Thanked for Invitation

A statement said the queen thanked Gorbachev and explained that her program was fixed several years in advance. She “hoped it would be possible to take up the invitation in due course.”

The Soviet leader’s invitation came at the end of his visit to London, which British officials said established relations between the two countries at their warmest level since World War II.

It was made in the splendor of the state dining room over a meal that royal press secretary Robin Janvrin said was “relaxed, happy and very successful.”

The palace had let it be known in advance that the queen, already the most traveled monarch in Britain’s history, was eager to go to Moscow.

Her acceptance ended an estrangement between the British throne and the Soviet state since the murder of Czar Nicholas II and his family during the revolution.

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, have family ties with the Romanov dynasty, which provided Russia’s last czars.

The last British ruler to visit Russia was King Edward VII, the queen’s great-grandfather, whose yacht moored at Tallinn in Estonia in 1911 although he did not set foot ashore.

In 1924, her grandfather, King George V, implored Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald never to put him into the position of having “to shake hands with the murderers of my relatives.”

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who vetoed the prospect of a visit to Moscow by the queen when it was floated last December, has apparently agreed in view of the steady improvement in ties with the Soviet Union.

The idea has seized the imagination of the British public, which reacted with enthusiasm to Gorbachev’s visit.

Gorbachev drove to Windsor for the final event of his stay, arriving to a discreet display of royal pomp and a relaxed greeting from the queen, who told him: “It was nice of you to come.”

Coldstream Guards Maj. Nicholas Parsons, speaking fluent Russian, invited the Soviet leader to inspect a guard of honor ranged on the lawn inside the castle quadrangle.

Television cameras were allowed a rare glimpse of the interior of the royal retreat as the queen led the Gorbachevs up the Grand Staircase into the vast St. George’s Hall, pointing out its treasures as they walked.

The cameras were not allowed to follow the group into the dining room, where they were joined by guests who included Thatcher, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert A. K. Runcie, and Prince Edward.

A total of 34 guests sat down to a meal that began with cornets of smoked salmon stuffed with crab and moved on to fillets of beef, duck and artichoke baked in pastry.

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The Crown S5 E6 real history: the Romanovs’ murder, and Philip’s “spiritual companionship”

Episode six, ‘Ipatiev House’, brings decades-old global tensions to the surface once more, with the Queen grappling with the gruesome fate of her Romanov relatives as current-day relations with Moscow start to thaw. Elsewhere, Prince Philip admits his need for “companionship”, outside of the Queen…

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Episode six begins by transporting us back to 1917, when Britain was still in the grip of the First World War . A government official interrupts a cosy royal breakfast, passing King George V (played by Richard Dillane) an official letter from No 10 Downing Street. Scanning it, he asks his son, Edward (Adam Buchanan) to pass it to his wife, Queen Mary (Candida Benson), as “her judgement is unfailingly better than mine”.

The royals were debating whether to send aid to their beleaguered Russian relatives, the Romanovs, who were being held by the radical Bolsheviks. In the drama, Prime Minister David Lloyd George promised to send a ship to rescue them – if George agreed to it.

• Read more | The last days of the Romanovs: could George V have saved the family?

But agreement was not forthcoming, and in the following scenes the Romanovs are butchered by the Bolsheviks. Kept prisoner in the crumbling Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, they are herded into the house’s basement – under the guise of taking photographs before being moved to safety – when Russian soldiers flood in and open fire.

The Crown ’s brutal depiction of events is sadly very close to reality. On the evening of 16 July 1918, the Romanovs were coerced down into the basement, lined up against the wall and, in the early hours of 17 July, were massacred. In an article for HistoryExtra , historian Helen Rappaport describes the family’s fate: “Professional marksmen would have completed their gruesome task in seconds, but it took a 20-minute frenzy of shooting, screaming, acrid smoke and fumes, blood and gore before ferocious bayonetting finally finished off those victims still alive”.

Read more about the history behind each episode of The Crown season 5:

• The Crown S5 E1: ‘Queen Victoria Syndrome’ and a second honeymoon
• The Crown S5 E2: Prince Philip’s ‘keeper of secrets’ and Andrew Norton’s book on Princess Diana
• The Crown S5 E3: exiled royals and the al-Fayeds
• The Crown S5 E4: the Queen’s “annus horribilis” and Princess Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend

Were George V and Mary responsible for the Romanovs’ deaths?

Rapaport also considers the idea that the British royals were responsible for the tragic events – although tellingly, she says it’s commonly claimed that George had the power to save them, rather than Mary, as The Crown suggests.

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She reveals the situation was far more complex than George simply being able to click his fingers and rescue the Romanovs. These events transpired in the midst of world war, and Russia was wracked by two revolutions in 1917. In the face of these developments, Rapaport argues “the Allied governments’ primary concern was keeping a demoralised and exhausted Russia in the First World War. Getting the former imperial family out of Russia to safety came a very poor second.”

Later in the episode, back in the 1990s, the Queen (Imelda Staunton) and Penny Knatchbull (Natascha McElhone) debate what could have motivated Mary to refuse to send aid to Russia. Whereas Penny claims Mary was jealous of the “prettier, grander” Tsarina Alexandra and didn’t want her to “upstage” her in Britain, the Queen argues: “Giving asylum to the Romanovs presented a much greater threat. There was widespread opposition to the tsarina in England, as she was seen as pro-German at the very time we were at war with them.”

The theory the Queen shares in the show might well be rooted in historical fact. Rappaport writes: “George V worried that to bring the controversial tsar and tsaritsa to England might cause unrest among the working classes sympathetic to the new revolutionary regime in Russia.” Moreover, she says, Alexandra was German, and “hostility towards Germany was at an all-time high, so much so that the British royal family changed its name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor that July”.

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What happened during the Queen’s first state visit to Moscow?

Back in the 1990s, controversies surrounding the Romanovs’ demise are stirred up in The Crown , during Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s (Anatoly Kotenev) lunch at Buckingham Palace. When asked if she would come to Moscow on a state visit, the Queen makes it clear that the Romanovs’ fate – and Yeltsin’s own involvement in the story, as a minor official who ordered Ipatiev House should be demolished in the 1970s – is a major sticking point. The Queen also seems aware of Yeltsin’s reputation as a heavy drinker .

The Crown does show some bumps in their relationship – notably when Yeltsin says in front of the Queen, in Russian: “She [the Queen] should be careful, or she will end up with a bayonet up her arse too,” which historian Sarah Gristwood calls “pretty damned unlikely”. But later in the episode the Queen and Philip do travel to Moscow for a state visit.

Such a visit did take place, in 1994. According to The Guardian , “the visit to Moscow put an end to more than seven decades of estrangement between the Kremlin and Europe’s royalty”. Yeltsin was suitably aware of the magnitude of the moment, planning a lavish trip that featured a trip to the Bolshoi ballet.

The Queen also discussed the visit in her Christmas speech that year , proclaiming: “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.”

Did Prince Philip’s DNA help identify the Romanovs’ remains?

Another key plot point of the episode is Philip’s involvement in positively identifying the Romanovs’ remains. After acid-damaged bones are unearthed in the forests close to Ipatiev House, experts turn to DNA testing to confirm that they belonged to the Romanovs. And Philip, being the tsarina’s great-nephew, helps the process by providing a blood sample, later revealing the match was “98.5 per cent” certain.

Although it might sound far-fetched, the Duke of Edinburgh actually did offer up some of his DNA to help scientifically determine whether the bones belonged to the Romanovs. As reported by the BBC in 1998 , Philip gave a DNA sample, and the remains of the tsar’s brother, Georgy, was also disinterred as part of the research effort.

Although the bones were confirmed to belong the Romanovs, arranging a burial for them proved difficult. As well as the Orthodox Church refusing to acknowledge that the bones did in fact belong to the Romanovs, various Russian cities competed for the honour of being the Romanovs’ final resting place. The burial finally went ahead in 1998, with Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and three of his children being laid to rest at the St Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg.

Was Prince Philip pursuing Penny Knatchbull?

Throughout the episode, there’s an undercurrent of tension in the royal marriage, which boils to the surface when the Queen and Philip are in Moscow. Sarah Gristwood told HistoryExtra : “[This conversation] is a big piece of psychodrama. The episode is set up on the premise that the relationship between Britain and Russia is a long marriage, in which there has been a blip – represented by communism and the Cold War. And the idea is that their marriage had a similar blip.”

This particular conversation in Moscow sees Philip rail against the Queen for the “atrocities” her relatives had historically unleashed upon his – with the British royals’ supposed link to the Romanovs’ deaths. Gristwood says: “I think that’s fiction rather than facts. We can’t know the conversations Prince Philip and the Queen had behind closed doors, and in the course of a marriage as long as theirs, there was bound to be moments of less than total agreement. But I do think that incident was very much set up for the purposes of drama.”

The conversation continues, with Philip eventually revealing his loneliness and that he’s “had to seek companionship elsewhere”. Although clarifying that this companionship is of an intellectual and spiritual nature, the Queen appears displeased when he reveals Penny Knatchbull is one person whom he has grown particularly close to.

• Read more | The Crown S5 E2 real history: Prince Philip’s ‘keeper of secrets’ and Andrew Norton’s book on Princess Diana

However, according to royal historian Tracy Borman, this doesn’t seem to match reality. She told HistoryExtra : “Neither is there anything to suggest that the Queen’s relationship with her husband grew more distant from the 1990s. In fact, the opposite seems to have been the case.

While Penny and Philip were close friends, attending carriage-riding competitions together, Tracy says “any hint of a more intimate relationship between them is purely speculative”. And of course, Elizabeth and Philip’s marriage continued well beyond the 1990s, with the pair remaining together until the Duke’s death in 2021.

• Read next | The Crown S5 E7 real history: the introduction of Martin Bashir, and a royal education

A former BBC History Magazine section editor, Rhiannon has long been fascinated by history and continues to write for HistoryExtra.com. She has appeared on the award-winning HistoryExtra podcast, interviewing experts on a variety of subjects, from Lucy Worsley discussing Agatha Christie to Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the perils of polar exploration

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‘The Crown’ Season 5 on Netflix: Fact and fiction in the ‘Russian episode’

FACT: Blood ties between the Royal Family and the Romanovs 

Episode 6 of ‘The Crown’ Season 5 begins with the execution of the Romanov family, a fate the Windsors could easily have saved their relatives from. Scenes from 1918, in which everyone speaks pretty good Russian, are intercut with the king out hunting. It was the king’s consort, Queen Mary, as not only the makers of the film but also some historians believe - who took the decision not to send a ship to rescue the Romanovs . Nicholas II and George V were first cousins and even looked alike. Consequently, Elizabeth II, the granddaughter of George V and particularly her consort, Prince Philip, great grandson of Nicholas I, were very wary about relations with Russia and regarded the Soviet authorities as “regicides”, which is why, during her entire reign, Elizabeth II never once visited the USSR.  

FACT: The Queen’s state visit to Russia

The latest season of ‘The Crown’ covers the first half of the 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and democracy, ushered in by Boris Yeltsin, took the place of communism. It was after the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of an independent Russia that the queen paid her first visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg . It was a historic visit in every sense. She was the first British monarch to come to the Russian state. The queen’s program included all the main sights of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the opening of a special museum dedicated to British history, but this was not included in the series. 

FICTION: Reasons for visiting Russia 

In ‘The Crown’, Elizabeth II visits Russia entirely for personal reasons - she wants to reconnect with her husband, Prince Philip, who, inspired by family links with the Romanovs, had become increasingly immersed in the Orthodox faith and his Slavic roots . According to the series, the Royal couple visit Moscow exclusively for the burial of their ancestors. Prince Philip’s DNA was indeed used for the scientific examination of the remains of the Romanovs, but this was more a consequence of, rather than the reason for, the Royal visit. The interment of the bones discovered in the Urals only took place in the late 1990s, although the forensic tests - involving both Russian and British experts - continued until the 2010s.

Read more: How did Tsar Nicholas II become a saint?

FICTION: A drunken Yeltsin on a tank, on a table and in Buckingham Palace 

The chronology of ‘The Crown’ season 5 is its weakest element. For instance, Elizabeth’s wish to meet Boris Yeltsin (played by Belarusian actor Anatoliy Kotenyov), the leader of a newly-democratic Russia, arises almost immediately after she sees him on a tank near Moscow’s White House . At the same time, Prime Minister John Major tells the queen that the Russian president has long gone mad and has sunk into alcoholism, to the soundtrack of ‘Kalinka Malinka’, but this does not prevent the queen from receiving Yeltsin and his wife in her palace and then agreeing to a return visit to Moscow. In reality, Yeltsin never went to Buckingham Palace, although his meeting with Major did take place, while his alcohol problems did catch up with him a certain time after his audience with the queen. 

FACT/FICTION: Tchaikovsky, Dostoevsky and the decline of the monarchy 

Season 5 of ‘The Crown’ has turned out to be the most intimate of all and the “Russian strand” has played no small part in this. In the very first episode, Prince Charles - the sole member of the Royal Family willing to take a fresh look at the monarchy - listens with interest to a radio report on the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Elizabeth’s ill-starred sister, Margaret, gets ready for a ball to the theme from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’. This foreshadows Diana’s meeting in the final episode with the Al-Fayed family, which is to play a baleful role in the subsequent season. “One of the most memorable accounts of a long, successful marriage comes from Dostoevsky’s wife, Anna. She and Fyodor were, she said, of… contrasting character. Different temperaments. Entirely opposing views, yet they never tried to change one another,” John Major tells the queen. It’s a pity that the House of Windsor took a different route.

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Imelda Staunton Recreates Queen Elizabeth's 1994 Visit to Russia While Filming 'The Crown'

The fifth season of  The Crown  will focus on 1990 to 1997, including the Queen's "annus horribilis"

Stephanie Petit is a Royals Editor, Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE.

Imelda Staunton is recreating Queen Elizabeth 's state visit to Russia in the latest scenes from The Crown .

The upcoming season Netflix's hit drama will include the monarch's 1994 visit to Russia. In photos from the set, Staunton sports a yellow dress topped by a fur coat and accessorized with gloves, her signature handbag and a coordinating hat, recreating the ensemble worn by the Queen as she inspected Russian service personnel at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow.

The Queen's three-day visit in October 1994 marked the first time a ruling British monarch had visited Russia — and it remains her only visit to the country. She was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip , on the trip. The Duke of Edinburgh, who died last year at age 99, will be portrayed in season 5 and 6 of The Crown by Jonathan Pryce , as the Netflix drama switched out their cast as the characters age.

Shooting the scenes is of particular significance given Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Britain's royal family for voicing their support for the country on March 1.

Zelenskyy tweeted that he and his wife, Olena, "are grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge @RoyalFamily that at this crucial time, when Ukraine is courageously opposing Russia's invasion, they stand by our country and support our brave citizens."

"Good will triumph," he added.

Queen Elizabeth , 95, also made a "generous donation" last week to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

The fifth season of The Crown will reportedly focus on 1990 to 1997 and feature a new cast, including Dominic West playing Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana.

The storyline may focus in part on 1992, which the Queen declared to be an "annus horribilis" (Latin for "horrible year"). It was the year in which three of her four children were separated from their spouses and a devastating fire hit Windsor Castle.

Though season 5 was initially intended to be the series' curtain call, creators changed their minds and, to fans' great relief, promised that the historical drama will continue to rule Netflix queues for a final, sixth season.

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"As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons," creator Peter Morgan said in July 2020. "To be clear, Series 6 will not bring us any closer to present-day — it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail."

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Who was Boris Yeltsin and who plays him in The Crown?

Yeltsin's visit to the UK and The Queen's visit to Moscow in 1994 are both dramatised in the new season of The Crown.

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Amidst all the internal family politics on display in The Crown season 5, there are also episodes which stray outside of the royal disputes to focus on other historical events.

One of these is Ipatiev House, the sixth episode of the season which deals further with Prince Philip's friendship with Penny Knatchbull , but also with Russian leader Boris Yeltsin.

Yeltsin's visit to the UK, and The Queen's visit to Moscow in 1994 are both explored, but just who was Yeltsin and who plays him in The Crown?

Read on for everything you need to know.

Who was Boris Yeltsin?

Boris Yeltsin was a Russian politician, who between the years of 1991 and 1999 acted as the first president of the Russian Federation, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He followed Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the last leader of the Soviet Union up until its dissolution, and his leadership was succeeded by Vladimir Putin.

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Yeltsin had previously been a member of the Communist Party, but quit the party in July 1990, before becoming the first popularly elected leader in Russia's history.

He served two terms as President, during which time he oversaw the country's transition to a capitalist economy, and visited London in 1994. Later that same year, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit Russia since the 1917 revolution.

Yeltsin died in 2007 aged 76.

Who plays Boris Yeltsin in The Crown?

Yeltsin is played in The Crown by Belarusian actor Anatoliy Kotenyov .

Kotenyov is known for appearing in films such as As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me, Dezha vyu and Chetvyortaya planeta. He also recently appeared in series such as Street Justice and Kris+Tina.

How does Boris Yeltsin factor into The Crown season 5?

Boris Yeltsin appears in The Crown season 5 episode 6, called Ipatiev House. At the start of the episode, Jonny Lee Miller's Prime Minister John Major returns from a visit to Moscow and says that the people there love Yeltsin, but that he's not sure he was ever once sober when they were in one another's company.

He told Imelda Staunton's Queen that Yeltsin is an anglophile who would love to receive an invitation to the palace. However, while The Queen initially seems to have a positive impression of this idea, her Private Secretary then informs her that when he was younger Yeltsin had been a regional official in the city where Ipatiev House was located - where the Romanov family were executed in 1918.

Yeltsin visits the palace and during lunch invites The Queen to visit Moscow to celebrate the end of Communist rule. However, The Queen tells him he should have considered what happened at Ipatiev House, understanding that he personally gave the order for the house to be destroyed. She says she considers this an act of great disrespect to her family's memory.

Yeltsin says the orders came from the very top and that he will do everything he can to restore the Romanovs' dignity, to which she says they can then discuss a royal visit.

During official photographs, Yeltsin says in Russian to those with him that The Queen shouldn't lecture him, and that the Romanovs' fates were actually sealed in Buckingham Palace.

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The Queen later visits Moscow after the Romanovs' bodies are uncovered, but a last minute hold-up occurs when they're unable to identify two of them. A funeral can therefore not take place as was planned.

In private, The Queen admits to Philip how disappointed she is that her relatives will not yet be buried, after they had travelled there specifically to see that happen.

Later, back in the UK, John Major confirms that the bodies have been identified and the burial can take place, explaining that Yeltsin was "positively giddy" that a line could finally be drawn under the matter.

The Crown seasons 1-5 are available on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month . Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream .

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Planning a trip to Moscow? Our travel guide contains up-to-date, personal information on everything from what to see , to when to visit , where to stay , and what to eat !

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Why visit Moscow?

Majestic churches, impressive historic fortresses, and palatial buildings: Moscow is a fascinating city whose emblematic architecture reflects the turbulent history that has defined Russia throughout the centuries.

The traces of the USSR can be found around every corner of the city , side by side with the iconic relics of Imperial Russia , like the mythical Red Square , the imposing Kremlin , and the beautiful  St Basil's Cathedral . 

Discover a fascinating world of Cold War bunkers, golden-domed basilicas, world-class art museums, and the legendary "palace of the people,"  as the Moscow Metro has been nicknamed. Whether you fancy watching a classical Russian ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre , perusing the fine arts at the Pushkin Museum , or marveling at the sheer size of the monuments to the Soviet state's achievements at the  All-Russia Exhibition Centre , this travel guide will help you on your way!

Where to start?

If you're going to travel to Moscow and you don't know much about the city yet, the first thing to do is to dive into its legendary history - understanding the past will help you understand the present. Next, check out our practical hints and tips on traveling to the city before discovering which of its most important museums , monuments , and attractions pique your interest.

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Booking your accommodation in advance is the best way to get great discounts. Our detailed guide on where to stay in Moscow  will help you decide which neighborhood you'd like to look for hotels or apartments in, and our hotel search engine will find you the best deals!

Why is our Moscow travel guide the best?

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All the information in this guide is valid as of December 2022. If you find any errors or have any comments, please feel free to contact us .

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Queen says father would be 'so pleased' on visit to regiment as Colonel-in-Chief

Posted: April 22, 2024 | Last updated: April 22, 2024

The Queen has said her late father would be "so pleased" as she visited his regiment for the first time since becoming its Colonel-in-Chief. Camilla was said to have been "awestruck" to see a tunic belonging to her father, Major Bruce Shand, and a letter written by him as she visited Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire. She met serving Royal Lancers and veterans at their barracks during the visit - her first since becoming Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) last June. It was a role last held by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

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Cameron to raise Russia sanctions side-stepping on Central Asia visit

The Foreign Secretary will travel to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

Lord David Cameron is visiting Central Asia in a bid to boost British ties with the region amid concerns about trade sanctions on Russia being side-stepped in neighbouring countries.

On a five-day trip, the Foreign Secretary will travel to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia seeking to promote business and cultural links with the UK.

He will warn the region is “at the epicentre of some of the biggest challenges we face” as he announces a series of measures aimed at supporting its “hard-won sovereignty”.

The trip, which is the first by a British foreign secretary to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, comes as reports suggest luxury UK cars are still making their way to Moscow through former Soviet states.

Exports of high-end vehicles to Russia were banned by Britain after President Vladimir Putin waged war in Ukraine two years ago, but there are concerns over a sudden spike in sales to nearby countries.

It is believed that vehicles are then sent on to Moscow, with Sky News reporting a 1,860% increase in vehicles sold to Azerbaijan last year compared with five years preceding the invasion.

In talks with leaders from across the region, Lord Cameron will seek to “advance discussions on sanctions circumvention, human rights and reform”, the Foreign Office said.

He will double the amount of funding for Chevening Scholarships, which support people overseas studying in British universities, and announce £50 million over the next three years in development spending across the region.

A new scheme designed to promote the English language will also be announced, including online teaching resources with tailored local content available to teachers throughout Central Asia, the Foreign Office said.

During the visit, the Foreign Secretary will visit sites including a hydro-electric project in Tajikistan, which is heavily dependent on Russia for its economy, and a canal irrigation site in Kyrgyzstan.

Lord Cameron said: “We live in a contested, competitive world.

“If you want to protect and promote British interests you need to get out there and compete.

“Central Asia is at the epicentre of some of the biggest challenges we face and it’s vital for the UK and the region that we drive forward its future prosperity.”

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The Grio's Harlem and Moscow Harlem Queen

While we are putting the finishing touches on Season 4 of "Harlem Queen" check out "Harlem and Moscow". I had the opportunity to speak with the writer of the series, Alle Mims. We had a lovely chat about the people of the Harlem Renaissance who traveled to Russia to make this ill-fated Russian propaganda film, the Russian creatives of this film as well as a little about researching and writing historical fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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