Bilateral relations
Czech Republic?United Kingdom relations
are foreign relations between the
Czech Republic
and the
United Kingdom
. The Czech Republic has an embassy in
London
and four honorary consulates (in
Cardiff
,
Edinburgh
,
Manchester
and
Newtownards
). The United Kingdom has an embassy in
Prague
.
Both states are members of
NATO
.
History
[
edit
]
King
John of Bohemia
was
killed in action
in the
Battle of Crecy
in 1346 aiding
France
against
England
.
[1]
The United Kingdom and Czechoslovakia historically had lukewarm, although not hostile, relations largely due to Britain's lack of involvement in
continental Europe
beyond
France
and Czechoslovakia being caught in between the mostly capitalist Allied countries and the
Soviet Union
.
[2]
Initially the two nations were allies and trading partners
[3]
during the years prior to
World War II
. The first Czechoslovak Republic's founder Toma? Masaryk had lived in London during World War I, where he had met Wickham Steed, a famous Times Journalist and Sir George Clerk. Ex British intelligence officer Robert Bruce was a notable English Czechophile, who later go on to become commercial secretary and was on friendly terms with Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia.
[4]
Ties were somewhat strained when
Nazi Germany
annexed much of the country under the terms of the
Munich Agreement
(1938), which many
Czechs
viewed as the "
Munich betrayal
" (
Czech
:
Mnichovska zrada
). Over 500 Czech pilots, most of whom had fled the
Nazi occupation
to Allied countries, served with
Royal Air Force
and gained distinction during the
Battle of Britain
for their bravery and skills. One such pilot was
Josef Franti?ek
, a
Distinguished Flying Medal
recipient and one of only two non-
Commonwealth
nationals among "
The Few
" who were the top ten leading
aces
. Britain was one of several countries Czech Jewish refugees fled to, most notably through
Kindertransport
.
Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonour. They chose dishonour. They will have war.
During the
Cold War
, relations again worsened as Britain was
an ally
of the
United States
, the "enemy" of the
Soviet Union
, making Britain and the Socialist-ruled Czechoslovakia "enemies" by association. Since the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia
, economic relations have largely normalised, although neither countries are priority allies for the other.
[6]
Trade
[
edit
]
Bilateral trade was worth £6.7 billion in 2011.
[7]
Migration
[
edit
]
The
2001 UK Census
recorded 12,220 Czech-born people resident in the UK.
[8]
The
Office for National Statistics
estimates that, as of October 2010 to September 2011, 24,000 to 40,000 Czech-born people were living in the UK.
[9]
State visits
[
edit
]
Queen Elizabeth II
paid a state visit to the Czech Republic in March 1996, she visited
Prague
and
Brno
and was received by President
Vaclav Havel
.
[10]
See also
[
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]
Notes and references
[
edit
]
External links
[
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]
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