In London this month, Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge was born to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, marking another momentous occasion in the history of Britain’s royal House of Windsor. We here in Budapest wish baby Charlotte all the best for her assuredly remarkable lifetime ahead, and hope that sometime in the not-too-distant future she will be able to visit Hungary’s capital – Charlotte would be following the footsteps of numerous blue-blooded Brits. Here are details of regal visits to Budapest destinations in relatively recent years.
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Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales
In May of 1990, Princess Charlotte’s paternal grandparents visited several sightseeing hotspots of the Magyar metropolis – Chuck and Di first stopped by Heroes’ Square before admiring artifacts at the Hungarian National Museum and enjoying a public stroll on the Danube Promenade; Charles also met with Hungarian politicians at the Parliament House while Diana viewed an exhibit of British fashion at the Museum of Applied Arts. Two years later – by which point the royal couple’s marriage was on the rocks – Diana visited Budapest with her sister to attend a gala performance at the Opera House, along with a visit to the Peto Institute (which she also visited in 1990) to cheer up disabled children.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
The UK’s sovereign monarch arrived in Budapest with her husband on a state visit in May of 1993, and together they also attended an Opera House show, sitting in the Royal Box (naturally) originally occupied by members of Austria’s Habsburg monarchy. During their time in Hungary’s capital, Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh also toured the National Széchényi Library within the Buda Castle to examine several historic documents – and according to numerous sources, during this Hungary trip Prince Philip made one of his most classic gaffes when he appeared to indirectly criticize Hungarian gastronomy while telling a British tourist, “You can’t have been here long, you haven’t got a pot belly.”
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Princess Beatrice
What would an article about the British royal family be without a little tabloid gossip? According to the Daily Mail, in September of 2008 Princess Beatrice visited Budapest on a private holiday. While the article reveals little about her time in the city, the princess allegedly caused a stir by utilizing a Hungarian police escort when traveling from downtown to the Budapest Airport, where she waited for her departing flight in the VIP Celebi Lounge, and then left the country without paying for either service; later her mother was issued a £1,000 bill by the Hungarian authorities. Since then the Celebi Lounge is now refurbished, and we’re certain that Beatrice would still be welcome there…
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Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
In March of 2010, Prince Charles returned to Budapest with his second wife, Camilla. The regal couple enjoyed a gala dinner and panoramic cityscape views at the Sándor Palace in the – where Charles remarked on his own Hungarian ancestry – and their visit also included a solemn display of remembrance for Hungary’s Holocaust victims while touring the (pictured above). The Prince also took a short excursion up to the village of Szentendre just north of Budapest to see the Skanzen open-air ethnography museum, where he observed traditional Hungarian customs and artistry of centuries past before indulging in some fine Hungarian wine in a classic stone cellar.
