Opinion: The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance bond of friendship – By Len Port

For a completely unbiased republic like Portugal to formally declare a three-day interval of nationwide mourning for a overseas monarch is exceptional, however such is the respect for the late Queen Elizabeth ll and this nation’s centuries of shut ties with Britain.

The mourning right here overlaps the funeral in London on Monday attended by Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa amongst many different heads of state.

Beneath the Treaty of Windsor (*) as way back as 1386, Portugal and Britain cast a bond of friendship often known as the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. This was centuries earlier than the 2 maritime nations situated on the western fringe of the European continent created, with none battle between them, separate empires internationally. The alliance remains to be in power as we speak.

Portugal’s final monarch was Dom Manuel ll. His reign got here to an finish with the October Revolution in 1910. Manuel lived the final 20 years of his life in exile in Twickenham, England.

In 1932, the yr Manuel died, the then British monarch, King George V, addressed his individuals for the primary time on the radio. He wished them a contented Christmas in a speech composed by the legendary author Rudyard Kipling.

George V’s granddaughter Elizabeth was simply six years outdated on the time. Her coronation in 1952 was broadcast dwell on tv channels and that is mentioned to have been the most important occasion that established tv as a mainstream medium in Britain. She has completely dominated it day and evening since her passing on Thursday 8^th September.

Queen Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, made two state visits to Portugal. The primary was in 1957 throughout the Estado Novo dictatorship of António Oliveira Salazar. The second was in 1985 when crowds within the port metropolis of Setubal cheered and chanted ‘Viva a Rainha’ earlier than the royal couple went on a four-day tour of Lisbon, Porto and Evora within the Alentejo.

Prince Charles visited Portugal together with his spouse Princess Diana in 1987. They attended a memorial service marking the 600^th anniversary of the wedding of Portugal’s King Dom João l to Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of England’s John of Gaunt. It coincided with the 1387 Treaty of Windsor alliance. Prince Charles made one other go to, this time in 2011 together with his current spouse, Camilla, now the brand new king’s consort.

With the easing of the COVID pandemic, the variety of British holidaymakers in Portugal has been surging once more. At the moment there are greater than 46,000 British residents registered as residing in Portugal, the second largest variety of expatriates after these from the previous Portuguese colony of Brazil. The variety of Portuguese nationals residing in the UK was in 2020 estimated at about 270 thousand.

(*) Sealing the Treaty of Windsor in 1386.
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Len Port is a journalist and creator. Born in Eire, his first written items had been revealed whereas he was working within the Pure Historical past Museum, London. Since then he has labored as a information reporter, primarily in Hong Kong, Northern Eire, South Africa and Portugal.

Along with reporting arduous information for a number of the world’s main information organizations, he has produced numerous function articles on all types of topics for a variety of publications. Now residing in southern Portugal, his books embrace journey guides and kids’s tales. His ebooks – Individuals in a Place Aside and The Fátima Phenomenon – Divine Grace, Delusion or Pious Fraud? can be found from Amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. His weblog posts may be considered at algarvenewswatch.blogspot.com