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Britain's Prince Edward arriving in Israel on Wednesday. (Mati Milstein / British Embassy)
Last update - 02:41 06/09/2007
Britain's Prince Edward arrives in Israel for first royal visit in over a decade
By Daphna Berman, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel, Yad Vashem 

Prince Edward, the earl of Wessex and the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth, arrived in Israel Wednesday, marking the first royal visit here in more than a decade. But despite his high-profile four-day tour, the prince's visit has been categorized as "private" and so the situation remains unchanged: not a single member of the British royal family has ever been to Israel on an official visit.

Prince Edward, who is seventh in line for succession to the British throne, is the third member of the British royal family to visit Israel. Both his father, Prince Philip, the duke of Edinburgh, and his brother, Prince Charles, have been here on unofficial visits.

The Prince was invited by the Israel Youth Award program, a self-development group for Jewish and Arab youth that is affiliated with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award International Association. In recent years, Prince Edward has taken on several of his father's roles, including the awards scheme.
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During his visit, Prince Edward will not be meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or President Shimon Peres. His schedule includes a tour of Yad Vashem Thursday, where a tree has been planted in honor of his grandmother Princess Alice of Greece, who was recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" for sheltering a Jewish family in her Athens home during the Holocaust.

He will also attend Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem with Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, as well as prominent members of the British community in Israel. Though members of the royal family are frequent fliers and have paid numerous official visits to other countries in the Middle East, Israel has yet to be bestowed the honor.

During her more than five decade reign, Queen Elizabeth has undertaken over 256 official overseas visits to 129 different countries, including Jordan in 1984. During a 1979 tour of the Middle East, she visited several Arab countries include Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Other members of the royal family have also paid official visits to the region.

In 1989, Prince Charles and his then wife, Diana, visited the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the prince and his new wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia as part of a two-week official tour. And in 2004, Prince Charles visited Iran, where he met with then president Mohammed Khatami in what British officials described as "entirely non-political."

Wednesday, a Buckingham Palace official confirmed that Prince Edwards's visit was "private," but would not comment on the reasons that members of the royal family have yet to pay an official visit here.

"Official visits are organized and taken on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth office," Meryl Keeling, a press officer for the royal family said from London.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office, in turn, said that Israel is "not unique" in not having received an official royal visit.

"Many countries have not had an official visit," the spokesperson said. "Members of the royal family travel extensively, and not having dialogue with the Prime Minister or Foreign Minister [during visits to foreign countries] is not uncommon." The Foreign Office spokesperson added that the queen and Prince Philip have restricted their travel considerably in recent years, presumably because of their age. "State visits, both incoming and outgoing, are not at the same frequency as they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago."

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was the first member of the British royal family to visit Israel when he took part in a 1994 ceremony at Yad Vashem honoring his mother. A year later in 1995, Prince Charles visited Israel to attend Yitzhak Rabin's funeral.

In recent years, however, there have been two official Israeli state visits to Britain; President Chaim Herzog visited Britain in 1993, and President Ezer Weizman visited in 1997.

Last year, former British Ambassador to Israel Simon McDonald told Haaretz that a member of the British royal family will only make an official state visit to Israel once there is peace.

"The key issue in deciding a state visit is peace, and when there is peace, there will be a state visit," he said. "The queen is our head of state and so we need to be careful."

McDonald added that when there is peace, he "will be pushing" for a state visit to Israel.

Lord Greville Janner, a member of the House of Lords and a leading figure in the British Jewish community, said that an official state visit to Israel would be too "politically controversial."

"A state visit would be a very clear gesture that the government does not want to make because of the reaction that might arise from neighboring states," Lord Janner told Haaretz Wednesday. "I do hope that the queen will visit Israel on a state visit. It's a pity, but they do not want to stir up trouble."

Other prominent members of the British community also expressed disappointment in the decision to classify the visit as private.

"Israel has existed for 60 years now, and it is time we had an official royal visit," said Brenda Katten, chair of the Israel, Britain and Commonwealth Association. "It feels strange that we are the only ones excluded, and I don't know why that is. We've been told that when Israel has peace, someone will come, but the fact of the matter is, that other countries haven't had peace and they've nevertheless received official visits."

The British Embassy in Tel Aviv said that the government "regularly looks at places members of the royal family should visit and will continue to do so." It said, however, that the decision takes into account "a combination of diary commitments, the objective for the proposed visit, and the situation on the ground.
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  1.   I`m here but I`m not here? 18:42  |  duh 05/09/07
  2.   Well, he is welcome as long as he does not represent the 18:50  |  Dudu Tavor 05/09/07
  3.   He can not make an "official visit" 19:40  |  Mark 05/09/07
  4.   Israel should keep him 19:45  |  Jimsbaatar 05/09/07
  5.   For Dudu Tavor # 2 20:16  |  Oliver Clickfool 05/09/07
  6.   The offspring of a bunch of incestuous Germans, called the 20:45  |  Andreas 05/09/07
  7.   No, Click the Fool, he does not have to be a Socialist in order 21:11  |  Dudu Tavor 05/09/07
  8.   Never good enough ! 21:21  |  Londoner 05/09/07
  9.   But Israel is not an official country 23:04  |  Tim 05/09/07
  10.   #2 You mean those newspapers that tell it like it is? 23:11  |  Don Camillo 05/09/07
  11.   the prince 23:32  |  wh 05/09/07
  12.   wh 23:35  |  ontario 05/09/07
  13.   no, really? 00:21  |  edgar 06/09/07
  14.   Israel exists thanks to Britain 00:26  |  Kevin 06/09/07
  15.   londoner 00:30  |  les 06/09/07
  16.   #8 Let me Respond as an American 00:41  |  ralphsrant1 06/09/07
  17.   Londoner 00:48  |  rich 06/09/07
  18.   No. 8 - Of Course it`s Good Enough! 01:28  |  Jewish Londoner 06/09/07
  19.   #14 response from another American 02:08  |  Kevin 06/09/07
  20.   No `official` Royal visit to Israel. Why? 02:20  |  Maureen Ann 06/09/07
  21.   Is HRH Andrew not a Jew? 03:29  |  Hannah 06/09/07
  22.   Kevin 06:41  |  Connie 06/09/07
  23.   Why the fuss? 07:42  |  Ari ben Yisrael 06/09/07
  24.   Kevin your an idiot 07:59  |  Antony 06/09/07
  25.   To Kevin - and on Israel`s opnly interest in England 08:48  |  Ariel 06/09/07
  26.   Let him meet Katsav and Hirschon as well 09:10  |  SJ 06/09/07
  27.   #9TIM HAS RULED OUT 50%OF THE WORLD 10:13  |  PAUL HARRIS 06/09/07
  28.   maureen Ann # 20 10:24  |  bruce 06/09/07
  29.   the British Royal family are Germans 10:26  |  Jewboy 06/09/07
  30.   Who incited the riots of 1920`s 10:31  |  Jewboy 06/09/07
  31.   British foreign policy and Arab riots. 10:35  |  Giles Martin 06/09/07
  32.   Kevin#19 New Mexico Show Go Back To MExico? 10:40  |  LagunaGeno 06/09/07
  33.   HE WILL CONQUER JERUSALEM 10:45  |  indrajaya 06/09/07
  34.   Royal Visit 10:46  |  Jack 06/09/07
  35.   British Royalty 10:49  |  Mark 06/09/07
  36.   #8 Let me Respond as an American 10:54  |  London Boy 06/09/07
  37.   Who is this chap again? Never heard of him. 10:54  |  Cucumber sandwich 06/09/07
  38.   Giles Martin- who are you kidding? 11:18  |  Jewboy and proud 06/09/07
  39.   I am not being spat on. It is raining. 11:21  |  Avi 06/09/07
  40.   22/24/25/32 Balfour Declaration and creation of Israel 11:37  |  Kevin 06/09/07
  41.   He was in Israel,that`s official. Stop stirring 12:00  |  PETER SM 06/09/07
  42.   Should a jackel/leper state be recogized by anyone? 12:06  |  Hannah 06/09/07
  43.   Dudu about neo-Socialism in Britain 12:07  |  Dani Harel 06/09/07
  44.   #22 Ungrateful Connie 12:08  |  Ben Alofs 06/09/07
  45.   Re: is HRH not a jew? 12:21  |  Charley 06/09/07
  46.   Reply to Jew boy# 29 look in your own family 12:32  |  SJ 06/09/07
  47.   The Brits and the Briss 12:44  |  Ronnie Wolman 06/09/07
  48.   Good! 12:48  |  John 06/09/07
  49.   Prominent British Jews in Israel. 12:55  |  Jack 06/09/07
  50.   #40 kevin and ben alofs tell history as it wasnt 13:27  |  victor hardman 06/09/07
  51.   HANNAH Israel is recognised by most of the worlds countries 13:28  |  PETER SM 06/09/07
  52.   B.ALOFFS.The Brits listened to the Arabs&kept out Jews in WW2 13:39  |  PETER SM 06/09/07
  53.   If British Royal Falls in the Forest... 13:43  |  FOX 06/09/07
  54.   @Tim 13:47  |  Ben 06/09/07
  55.   Ben Aloof #44 13:49  |  FOX 06/09/07
  56.   KEVIN the Brits gave many forts to the Arabs 13:54  |  PETER SM 06/09/07
  57.   Crazy Hannah revealing more motivation 14:00  |  Hannah 06/09/07
  58.   Ben Alofs, HRH, & gratitude... 14:02  |  Simon Jenkins 06/09/07
  59.   `Oliver Clickfool`???!!!!?? 14:05  |  Simon Jenkins 06/09/07
  60.   Kevin about the British and the ME 14:20  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 06/09/07
  61.   The Royal family visit to ISRAEL 14:33  |  Tenne David 06/09/07
  62.   Stop Complaining 14:38  |  Stephen 06/09/07
  63.   If Israel want the Queen to visit 15:02  |  Chris Linthwaite 06/09/07
  64.   Sj stop being jealous 15:42  |  Jewboy 06/09/07
  65.   Ben Alofs 15:56  |  Danite 06/09/07
  66.   British were victims of terrorism 16:02  |  Rey 06/09/07
  67.   remember the irgun terror org ? 16:11  |  mehmet 06/09/07
  68.   No 8: the classic pom 16:13  |  Jewish Australian 06/09/07
  69.   Kevin: is it the tequila or the hot Mexican sun 16:17  |  Bruce 06/09/07