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The Documentary: The Royal Diplomat

The royal diplomat

11/09/2022 GMT

The Royal Diplomat

BBC World Service - The Documentary, The Royal Diplomat

Emma Barnett looks back on Queen Elizabeth II’s role as a global stateswoman

Queen Elizabeth II was known around the world. She was a unique exemplar of diplomacy and soft power. The BBC’s Emma Barnett speaks to those who saw her at work and were with her as she considered some of the most difficult global issues.  Emma hears from friends and insiders, including prime ministers, her former Private Secretary and the grandson of a US President.
Queen Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952 at a time of crisis and flux in the aftermath of the Second World War, as the British Empire disintegrated. Her role as constitutional monarch and head of the Commonwealth placed her at the heart of global crises. We recall how she visited Ghana, Zambia and South Africa as a diplomatic envoy, helping to mediate in the racial politics of post-colonial Africa.
Relationships were at the heart of Queen Elizabeth’s diplomacy and we recall some of the most significant, including the warm friendship she developed with President Nelson Mandela.
From her first state visit to the US in 1957 to repair the transatlantic relationship after the Suez crisis, to the historic 2011 visit to Ireland – the first by a British monarch in a century - we show how reconciliation was a major theme of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Guests include former UK prime minister David Cameron, former Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Professor David Eisenhower, the former Mayor of Accra, Nat Nunoo Amarteifio,, former Irish prime minister Enda Kenny and the veteran US diplomat James Baker.

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