A Short History of the Marcoses' Complicated Ties With the U.K. and the British Royal Family
The date for King Charles III's coronation at Westminster Abbey is set. World leaders, diplomats, businessmen, and bankers, among others, are all expected to attend the ceremony. We can also expect to see President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. join them, Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr. confirms.
“When I saw him in the wake of Bobby Ongpin, he said: 'Teddy Boy, I’m coming in but we have to leave at once because we have to catch the summit (ASEAN).' He is going to be here," Locsin said in an interview with ABS-CBN.
In January, British envoy Laure Beaufils told CNN Philippines that the U.K. had already sent Marcos a "save the date" notice.
The former Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary clarified that the invitation is only extended to the president and his spouse, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. He also added that Marcos and the King have been familiar with each other since their polo-playing days.
The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort Camilla is slated on Saturday, May 6, 2023, with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby presiding. In a separate release, Buckingham Palace explained that the coronation service will "reflect the monarch's role today and look toward the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry."
Marcos Jr.'s attendance should add another wrinkle to the relationship between the two families.
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The Marcoses and the Monarchy
The British royal family and the Marcoses have had an established relationship since the President's father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., first rose to power in 1965. Former First Lady Imelda Marcos has visited the U.K. on various occasions, as well.
Secret diplomatic documents reveal that the Marcos matriarch had requested an "audience with Queen Elizabeth II at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland" sometime during her husband's early reign. Balmoral Castle was Her Majesty's private vacation estate when she was alive and foreign guests were not usually received here. Unfortunately for Imelda Marcos, her request would be denied at first.
According to the cable: “After the restraints of Manila she tends to behave impulsively and thoughtlessly when abroad, showing neither consideration, nor social discipline nor even an elementary awareness of public relations."
British Ambassador to the Philippines John Curle was also quoted as reporting to the British Foreign Office, saying, “Though intelligent, she has not got a disciplined mind and the ends do not tie up.”
Imelda Marcos did, however, get the chance to meet with the late Queen Elizabeth later on. The former First Lady did so together with a 12-year-old Marcos Jr. at Buckingham Palace in 1970. This was during the young Marcos' placement at Worth Abbey prep school south of London. Marcos Jr. would go on to study at Oxford University, as well, where he would be awarded a "special diploma in social studies" in 1978.
The relationship between the two families would only grow as the term of Marcos Sr. went along. In 1982, then-Prince Charles visited the Isles of Scilly, driving in a speedboat named "Imelda." It was said to be a gift from the First Lady.
Meanwhile, the U.K. Foreign Office, in a now-declassified note dated March 11, 1986, also confirmed that the Marcoses own property at Square/Duchess of Bedford Street in Central London that was said to be purchased by Marcos Jr. in the mid-'70s. By the middle of the '80s, the Marcoses had amassed $14 million worth of properties in the U.K.
Marcos Jr. expressed "profound sadness" over the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last year. The President sent his sister, Irene Marcos-Araneta, as his representative to the state funeral.
