Nelson Mandela was on a first name basis with Queen Elizabeth II, a rare privilege infringing royal etiquette, the late anti-apartheid hero’s foundation said Friday, sharing anecdotes of their beloved relationship.
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died on Thursday at the age of 96 at a Scottish summer residence.
“By his own admission, Nelson Mandela was an Anglophile, and in the years following his release from prison became a close relationship with the Queen,” the Nelson Mandela Foundation wrote in a statement offering condolences to the royal family.
“They often spoke on the phone with each other using their first names as a sign of mutual respect and affection.”
Known to South Africans as Madiba, Mandela spent decades in prison before leading his country from white minority rule to a multi-racial democracy. He died in 2013 at the age of 95.
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The foundation said Mandela thought it was important that the former colonial power had a cordial and productive relationship with the new Democratic Republic of South Africa.
Mandela, a non-profit founded to promote freedom and equality, quoted him as saying at a banquet for Prince Charles – now King Charles III – in 1997 that he had made a special tribute to the Queen after visiting South Africa two years later. How did you get the name? Earlier
Mandela described his visit as a “watershed”, saying, “As a token of our affection for His Majesty, we named him Motlepula, because his visit was accompanied by torrential rains, as we have not experienced in a long time.” was.” ,
In later life, Madiba often took pleasure in reminding Britain’s negotiators that South Africa had removed the colonial yoke – as well as in asking anyone visiting Britain “and have you met the Queen? ?”, said the Foundation.
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