A number of leading Hungarian politicians expressed condolences over the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen died peacefully in the 97th year of her life in the 71st year of her reign at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday. Her eldest son acceded to the throne as King Charles III.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his condolences in a message to his British counterpart Liz Truss. “I heard with great pain and sadness that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had passed away. Her dedication and service for the United Kingdom are an example for us all,” Viktor Orbán wrote, adding that we will always remember Her Majesty’s visit to Hungary in 1993 – which further strengthened relations between the two countries – with fondness.
“We say goodbye to the woman, the mother, the queen, the European head of state,” President Katalin Novák wrote on Facebook. “It is with sadness and respect that we bid farewell to one of the most influential figures in 20th century British and European history. We Hungarians have learned much in standing up for nation and family from Queen Elizabeth II. We will cherish Her Majesty’s memory in our hearts,” she wrote.
On behalf of Hungary, I conveyed my sincerest condolences to King Charles III and to the @RoyalFamily.
Rest In Peace, Your Majesty! pic.twitter.com/2Uk1RDAbmA— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovakMP) September 9, 2022
“We’ve lost one of the greats. We join her family and the people of the UK in mourning her passing,” Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations wrote on Twitter.
“A great monarch passed away today. A symbol of an era for whom duty, firmness, and patriotism were natural parts of her character. That is why she always inspired respect in everyone,” Fidesz MEP Balázs Hidvéghi wrote on Twitter.
Balázs Orbán, the Prime Minister’s Political Director, praised the Queen’s dedication to peace.
“It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.” – Queen Elizabeth II at the UN General Assembly in 2010.
Let her dedication to her people and her nation be an example to all leaders of the World.
May she rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/ikT6FD264P
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) September 8, 2022
Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky wrote on Facebook that his meetings with Queen Elizabeth II were his most memorable and honorable experiences during his time as Hungary’s Ambassador to the UK.
The Hungarian embassy in London expressed condolences and Ambassador Ferenc Kumin went to Buckingham Palace to place the flowers of grief.
Minutes after the tragic news about #QueenElizabeth I went to the Buckingham Palace to place the flowers of grief in front of the gates on behalf of #Hungary pic.twitter.com/qh0zwqlvUy
— Ferenc Kumin (@FerencKumin) September 8, 2022
Ferenc Gyurcsány, President of the opposition Democratic Coalition and his wife, MEP Klára Dobrev expressed their condolences. Gyurcsány called the Queen “an epochal monarch of a historic era” whom he respected “from very far, from what seems to be a completely different world.” Dobrev recalled that during the Queen’s reign, the British empire had segued into a country, but it is a “proud, strong, successful country.” She stressed that Elizabeth II did not yield to hatred and did not let lamentation over the past consume the future.
Featured photo via the Royal Family’s Twitter account