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The Duke and the Dictator: The Royal Role in Marshal Tito’s Visit to Britain, March 1953

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The Windsor Dynasty 1910 to the Present

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Modern Monarchy ((PSMM))

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Abstract

This chapter examines the ways in which, as a result of collaboration between the government and the royal family, it became possible for what was practically (if not officially) a state visit to go ahead at what was considered by the politicians of the day to be a crucial time, despite the difficulties that were posed by the run-up to the coronation of Elizabeth II. The Duke of Edinburgh effectively deputised for the Queen, after a lengthy political debate, even though he was not head of state and in reality held no official role in British public life at that point. His status as a senior royal, however, made his willingness to take a prominent role in receiving Tito an important asset for the government. The chapter explores the use made by politicians, in the national interest, of the symbolism, role and importance of the monarchy through this case study focusing on Tito’s 1953 visit to the UK.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The National Archives (henceforth TNA) PREM11/578, FO telegram to Belgrade, no.658, 20 September 1952.

  2. 2.

    The Duke of Edinburgh was granted the title ‘Prince’ of the UK in February 1957 after renouncing his titles in Greece and Denmark.

  3. 3.

    TNA FO371/107832, Cheetham, Minute, 17 January 1953.

  4. 4.

    E. Goldstein (1997) The Politics of the State Visit (Diplomatic Studies Programme).

  5. 5.

    TNA FO371/102179, Eden to Churchill, Note,14 July 1952.

  6. 6.

    TNA FO371/102179, Belgrade to FO, Telegram, 25 July 1952.

  7. 7.

    Goldstein, State, p7.

  8. 8.

    TNA FO371/107832, Cheetham, Report, 12 January 1953.

  9. 9.

    TNA FO371/107832, Cheetham to Mallet, 12 January 1953.

  10. 10.

    TNA FO371/107832, Cheetham, Minute, 17 January 1953.

  11. 11.

    TNA FO371/107832, W&S Department, Minute, 20 January 1953.

  12. 12.

    TNA FO371/107832, Lascelles to Shuckburg, Letter, 7 February 1953.

  13. 13.

    TNA FO371/107832, Instructions for Guard and Band at Westminster Pier, 9 March 1953.

  14. 14.

    TNA FO371/107833, Wright to Allingham, Admiralty, Letter, 6 March 1953.

  15. 15.

    TNA FO371/107832, Cheetham to Secretary of the Admiralty, Letter, 16 February 1953.

  16. 16.

    TNA FO371/107832, Shuckburg, Minute, 17 January 1953.

  17. 17.

    Ibid.

  18. 18.

    TNA FO371/107833, Wright, Minute, 26 February 1953.

  19. 19.

    TNA PREM11/578, Press announcement, 11 March 1953.

  20. 20.

    TNA FO953/1457, Lescelles to FO, Memorandum, 13 March 1953.

  21. 21.

    TNA FO953/10457, Lloyd to Crighton, Telegram, 28 February.

  22. 22.

    TNA PREM11/578, Colville to Leishman, Note, 25 February 1953.

  23. 23.

    TNA FO371/107833, Leishman to Strang, Minute, 25 February 1953.

  24. 24.

    TNA FO371/107833, Shuckburg, Minute, 25 February 1953.

  25. 25.

    TNA FO371/107833, Lascelles to Strang, Letter, 27 February 1953.

  26. 26.

    TNA FO371/107832, Cheetham, Minute, 23 January 1953.

  27. 27.

    TNA FO371/107833, Selwyn-Lloyd, Minute, 24 February 1953.

  28. 28.

    TNA FO371/107833, Eden, Minute, 25 February 1953.

  29. 29.

    TNA PREM11/578, Foreign Office Intelligence Report, 31 December 1952.

  30. 30.

    TNA FO371/107834, Commonwealth Office telegram to High Commissions, Telegram, 6 March 1953.

  31. 31.

    TNA FO371/102184, Belgrade to FO, Telegram, 1 December 1952.

  32. 32.

    TNA PREM11/573, Shuckburgh to Colville, Letter, 8 December 1952.

  33. 33.

    TNA PREM11/578, Colville to Shuckburgh, Letter, 13 December 1952.

  34. 34.

    TNA FO371/102184, Leishman, Minute, 16 December 1952.

  35. 35.

    TNA FO371/102184, Harrison, record of conversation with the Police Commissioner, 11 December 1952.

  36. 36.

    TNA PREM11/578, FO to HMG Representatives around the world, Report, 3 March 1953.

  37. 37.

    TNA PREM11/578, Maxwell Fyfe to Eden, 28 October 1952.

  38. 38.

    TNA FO371/107835, Wilson to FO, Telegram, 14 March 1953.

  39. 39.

    TNA FO371/107835, Wilson to FO, Telegram, 21 March 1953.

  40. 40.

    K. Spehnjak (2005) ‘Josip Broz Tito’s Visit to Great Britain in 1953’, Review of Croatian History, 1(1) 273–94.

  41. 41.

    TNA FO371/107835, British Legation, Sofia to FO, 19 and 26 March 1953.

  42. 42.

    TNA FO371/107838, Roberts to Strang, Memorandum, 2 April 1953.

  43. 43.

    P. G. Boyle, ed (1990) The Churchill-Eisenhower Correspondence, 1953–1955, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press), p33.

  44. 44.

    TNA FO371/107838, Robert to Strang, Memorandum, 2 April, 1953.

  45. 45.

    TNA FO371/107838, Record of conversations between Secretary of State and the French and American Ambassadors, 21 March 1953.

  46. 46.

    TNA FO371/107369, Wright, Minute, 13 March 1953.

  47. 47.

    TNA FO371/107369, FO to Rome, Telegram, 24 March 1953.

  48. 48.

    TNA FO371/107833, Cheetham, Minute; Harrison, Minute, 23 February 1953.

  49. 49.

    J. Ridley (1994) Tito: A Biography (London: Constable), p323.

  50. 50.

    TNA FO371/107835, Mallet to FO, Telegram, 2 April 1953.

  51. 51.

    TNA FO371/107827, Belgrade to FO, Telegram, 13 August 1953.

  52. 52.

    TNA PREM11/580, King Peter, correspondence.

  53. 53.

    TNA PREM11/580, Colville to Shuckburgh, Letter, 13 March 1952.

  54. 54.

    TNA FO371/107835, Briefing, prepared for the visit of Tito, March 1953.

  55. 55.

    One option was the Queen’s uncle, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.

  56. 56.

    TNA FO371/107827, Dixon, report on conversation with Yugoslav Ambassador, 19 June 1953.

  57. 57.

    The Trieste situation erupted in the autumn of 1953 but this did not lead to a total breakdown in relations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Archives, London, UK

    Andrew Harrison

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  1. Andrew Harrison
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Matthew Glencross

  2. Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom

    Judith Rowbotham

  3. King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Michael D. Kandiah

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Harrison, A. (2016). The Duke and the Dictator: The Royal Role in Marshal Tito’s Visit to Britain, March 1953. In: Glencross, M., Rowbotham, J., Kandiah, M. (eds) The Windsor Dynasty 1910 to the Present. Palgrave Studies in Modern Monarchy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56455-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56455-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56454-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56455-9

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