The story of Elizabeth II is made up of a multitude of symbolic events. Back on those whose Africa was the theater.
1947 in South Africa: solemn promise
During a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, with her family, Princess Elizabeth, heir to the throne, pledges to devote her life to serving her subjects, in the United Kingdom and in the countries of the Commonwealth, an organization that then federated the British colonial empire. “I declare before you to dedicate my life, whether short or long, to your service and to the service of the great imperial family to which we all belong”she proclaimed on her 21st birthday, April 21, 1947.
1952 in Kenya: the new Queen of England
It was in Kenya that Princess Elizabeth learned of the death of her father, King George VI. He died on February 6, 1952 while suffering from lung cancer. Along with her husband, Prince Philip, the future Queen is staying at Treetops, a one-of-a-kind wildlife-viewing lodge perched atop a giant fig tree. The story goes that she learned of her accession to the throne there, but the information actually only reached her after she left Treetops.
1961 in Ghana: a “Dancing Queen” on the arm of President Nkrumah
The trip of the Queen of England to Ghana is considered to be one of the strong acts which made it possible to consolidate the Commonwealth. The political gesture, full of audacity, is not well received in his country. “The winds of change blowing over Africa have become a hurricane. Regardless, the personal regard and affection we have for Your Majesty will remain intact,” assures Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of the young independent state that is Ghana, reports the Ghanaian news site MyJoyOnline.
Moreover, on November 18, 1961 during the farewell ball given in her honor, Elizabeth II will dance “with a black man”: the image will be deleted from UK newspapersewe explain in a subject of the BBC devoted to this resounding official visit. Regardless, that evening, the Queen of England and her husband as well as the Nkrumah couple danced to Highlife, reports the Associated Press, a very popular rhythm in Ghana at the time. The title “Welcome your Majesty” was specially composed for the occasion. In Ghana, she becomes a “Dancing Queen” like the Abba group’s hit which will be, years later, her favorite song.
1991 in Zimbabwe: Mandela, surprise guest
Nelson Mandela, who was just released from prison in 1991, is the guest of the Commonwealth summit in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, in October. Then simple leader of the African National Congress (ANC), in a country still in full democratic transition, he does not have the rank to attend the banquet of the queen. She decides to break the protocol and invite him. In the days preceding this highly symbolic gesture, Elizabeth II had already come out of her reserve, congratulating herself that apartheid was “dying in South Africa”.
I met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the last Commonwealth meeting which was held in London in 2018 where we spent some time looking at letters that former President Nelson Mandela sent to the Queen, and we reminisced about the great stateman that Her Majesty so respected. pic.twitter.com/L4uSirDoYo
— Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) September 9, 2022
In his tribute to the late sovereign, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned the warm relationship between Elizabeth II and Nelson Mandela, the first black leader of the Rainbow Nation. In 2018, he recalls, “We spent some time reviewing the letters that former President Mandela sent to the Queen, and reminisced about the great statesman whom Her Majesty greatly respected”.