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Czech Republic–United Kingdom relations

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British-Czech relations
Map indicating locations of Czech Republic and United Kingdom

Czech Republic
United Kingdom
Diplomatic mission
Czech Republic Embassy, LondonBritish Embassy, Prague
Envoy
Ambassador Libor SečkaAmbassador Matt Field

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 the Council of Europe and NATO. the United Kingdom gave full support to the Czech Republic's applications for membership in the European Union and NATO.

History

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King John of Bohemia was killed in action in the Battle of Crécy 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 Tomáš 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: Mnichovská 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 František, 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.

— Winston Churchill on the Munich Agreement[5]
British Foreign Secretary William Hague meeting Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek in London, May 2014.

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

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Bilateral trade was worth £6.7 billion in 2011.[7]

Migration

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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

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Queen Elizabeth II paid a state visit to the Czech Republic in March 1996, she visited Prague and Brno and was received by President Václav Havel.[10]

Resident diplomatic missions

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  • the Czech Republic has an embassy in London and consulate-general in Manchester.
  • the United Kingdom has an embassy in Prague.

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ "John, king of Bohemia". Britannica. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  2. ^ Smetana, Vít (2008). In the Shadow of Munich: British Policy towards Czechoslovakia from 1938 to 1942. Karolinum Press.
  3. ^ "Treaty Series No.5" (PDF). Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 1 February 1926. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. ^ Neville, Peter (2021-12-31). "Anglo-Czech Relations and the Munich Crisis". Soudobé dějiny. 28 (3): 676–705. doi:10.51134/sod.2021.033. ISSN 1210-7050.
  5. ^ Overy, Richard (2009). 1939: Countdown to War. Penguin. p. 21. ISBN 9781101500415.
  6. ^ Waisová, Šárka (2011). "Czechoslovakia in a Divided Europe: The Formation of Czechoslovak Foreign Policy after World War II and Relations with Its Neighbors and the Superpowers during the Cold War". In Cabada, Ladislav; Waisová, Šárka (eds.). Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic in World Politics. Lexington Books. p. 57.
  7. ^ "Increasing business with the Czech Republic". British Embassy Prague. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  8. ^ "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Archived from the original on 2009-06-17. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  9. ^ "Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth (Table 1.3)". Office for National Statistics. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  10. ^ "OUTWARD STATE VISITS MADE BY THE QUEEN SINCE 1952". Official web site of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
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British Czech and Slovak Association

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