Letter From Queen Elizabeth II To Her ‘Good Friend’ Idi Amin Revealed
February 20, 2022
Queen Elizabeth II and Idi Amin
He was a brutal tyrant whose regime of terror horrified the world. But when the Queen wrote to Ugandan dictator Idi Amin – just weeks before his atrocities began to be exposed – she signed off her letter with the line ‘Your Good Friend’.
The extraordinary letter is revealed for the first time in previously unpublished papers from the National Archives.
They also reveal how the Queen quickly changed her view of Amin, but maintained the semblance of diplomatic decorum because of fears for the lives of British citizens in the African country.
Amin, a former British Colonial Army officer who seized power in a 1971 coup, was left giddy with excitement after receiving a Christmas card from the Foreign Office.
He sent a gushing letter in January 1972 inviting the Queen to the tenth anniversary of Ugandan independence that October, writing: ‘It would do my government a great honour if Your Majesty could grace these celebrations with your presence in the company of your husband and the rest of your family.’
The Queen politely declined, stating: ‘I am most disappointed that my commitments at that time will prevent my accepting your invitation.’
She concluded with her customary sign-off to heads of state: ‘I am your good friend, Elizabeth R.’
Later that year Amin expelled Uganda’s large community of Asians, including many thousands of British passport-holders, and news of widespread atrocities under his rule began to circulate.
As a result, the Queen was reluctant to send a proposed message to Uganda for Independence Day.
Dear Mr President,
Thank you for your message of 10th January, delivered by your Minister of Defence. I reciprocate your good wishes and read with pleasure what you said about relations between our countries.
I am very grateful for you asking me to attend the celebrations of the Tenth Anniversary of Ugandan Independence on 9th October, 1972. I am most disappointed that my commitments at that time will prevent my accepting your invitation.
I take this opportunity of wishing all success to your celebrations and to Uganda and its people throughout 1972.
I am your good friend,
Elizabeth R.
Letter from Queen Elizabeth
She relented only when Foreign Office staff warned Buckingham Palace that British lives could be at risk if Amin felt he was being snubbed.
Following the advice, a very short message was sent expressing the Queen’s good wishes to the people of Uganda – with no mention of Amin.
During his nine-year rule, the tyrant murdered an estimated 500,000 people. He was finally ousted in April 1979 and fled to Libya. He died in 2003.
Daily Mail
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