Queen Elizabeth II and trips to Sicily

Queen Elizabeth II, England's longest-serving monarch ever, who died at the age of 96, visited Sicily twice! The first trip of the sovereign to Sicily was in 1980, the second was in 1992!

Queen Elizabeth's travels around the world have been many, including two visits to Sicily, where she travelled for both official and tourist reasons. Intrigued by the stories of her grandmother Mary of Teck, the Queen stopped over in Sicily in 1980 and 1992.

Elizabeth II in Palermo in 1980

Queen Elizabeth's first presence in Sicily dates back to 1980, when the Queen of England decided to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother who had told her about her trip to the island in the 1920s.

The royal family landed at Palermo with the yacht 'Britannia' where she was welcomed by the highest officials of the region and state.

The royals visited Palermo aboard a Rolls Royce and the first stop was the Cathedral of Monreale, a property protected by theUNESCO. Afterwards, Elisabeth II visited the Palatine Chapel and the Norman Palace. The royal family's tour ended with a stop at the Valguarnera Gangi palace.

Elizabeth II in Palermo in 1992

After 12 years, Queen Elizabeth returned to Sicily on 28 May 1992, exactly five days after the Capaci massacre, in which Giovanni Falcone, Francesca Morvillo, Vito Schifani, Rocco Dicillo and Antonio Montinaro were killed.

On that occasion, the royals were in Sicily only passing through, the real destination of the trip was Malta for an official visit. Despite the commitment, Queen Elizabeth asked to change the schedule to stop at the site of the massacre to lay a bouquet of flowers and pay her respects to the victims of the Mafia attack.