Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's Visit to Slovenia and Slovakia

Queen Elizabeth signs the book of guests of honour while Prince Philip looks on at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, on October 23, 2008.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have wrapped up state visits to Slovenia and Slovakia this week. The visits were made at the invitations of Slovenian President Dr Danilo Tuerk and Slovakian President Mr. Ivan Gasparovic.

The royals arrived at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport on October 21, 2008. They were received by President and Mrs. Tuerk at the 16th-century Brdo Castle. A reception were given in their honor by the British Embassy to Slovenia, followed by a state banquet at the Brdo Castle in the evening. The Queen’s gown for the banquet was made from silver and gold brocade fabric given to her during a trip to the Middle East 20 years ago.

On the second day of their visit, the royals were gifted with a Lipizanner horse, which Queen Elizabeth was thrilled to receive. The horse, however, will remain in Slovenia.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip then flew to Slovakia for the state visit there on October 23-24, 2008. Their first day in the country was filled with a visit to Primacialny Square, a lunch at the Governor’s Palace hosted by the British Embassy, and meetings with veterans of the World War II. They also met with Sir Nicholas Winton, who helped hundreds of Jewish children escape from the Nazis to Britain from Czechoslovakia.

On the last day of their tour, The Queen conducted a ceremonial face-off to start a hockey game at the Ice Hockey Stadium in Poprad.

The state visits to Slovenia and Slovakia were The Queen’s first ever to the two countries, and the 87th and 88th state visits of her reign, respectively.

via Royal Insight; image used with permission from Newscom