Elizabeth II and British foreign policy (1952-2022)

My book explores the role of Queen Elizabeth II in shaping and implementing British foreign policy. Studying the official trips abroad made by Queen Elizabeth II in detail, spanning her seventy-year reign from 1952 to 2022, allows for an examination of Britain’s foreign policy over a significant timeframe, from the post-World War II era to the first quarter of the 21st century. Britain’s foreign policy evolution between 1952 and 2022 is one of decline and loss of Empire. Still, despite this context, Britain remained one of the most influential countries in the world, thanks to its nuclear status, its permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council, its economic and military capacities, its cultural reach, and its network of partnerships and alliances, notably with the United States of America. Britain retained its influence and an important role in the international arena. Now, what was Elizabeth II’s role in the making and shaping of British foreign policy during her seventy years of reign? Queen Elizabeth II played a key role as a symbol of the British Monarchy and of Great Britain, and shaped, in her way, British foreign policy.