In the fifth decade of her reign, the Queen - still fit and full of stamina despite her advancing years - kept up her demanding schedule of overseas visits. The highlight of the first half of the Noughties was the 2002 tour of Commonwealth realms, carried out as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Later on in the decade, in 2007, the Queen and Prince Philip the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown in Virginia, USA. In October of the same year the Queen made a historic trip to Slovenia and Slovakia, becoming the first British monarch to visit those countries.

The most groundbreaking visit of the decade occurred in May 2011, when the Queen and Prince Philip flew to the Republic of Ireland, the first visit by a British monarch since the country gained its independence in 1922. The trip was intended to promote Anglo-Irish friendship and support the peace process in Northern Ireland, and was a resounding success. The Queen is pictures on an impromptu walkabout through the English market in Cork.

The Queen's State and Commonwealth Visits: the 21st century

17 March-1 April 2000 Australia (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Western Australia)
16-19 October 2000 Italy, visiting President Ciampi
30 May-1 June 2001 Norway, visiting King Harald V and Queen Sonja
18-20 February 2002 J amaica (Kingston and Montego Bay)
22-27 February 2002 New Zealand (Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland)
27 February-3 March 2002 Australia (South Australia and Queensland,)
4-15 October 2002 Canada (Nunavut, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and the National Capital Region)
3-6 December 2003 Abuja, Nigeria
5-7 April 2004 France, visiting President Chirac
17-25 May 2005 Canada (Saskatchewan and Alberta)
23-26 November 2005 Malta
11-16 March 2006 Australia
16-18 March 2006 Singapore
16-17 October 2006 Lithuania, visiting President Adamkus
18-19 October 2006 Latvia, visiting President Vike-Freiberga
19-20 October 2006 Estonia, visiting President Ilves
5 February 2007 The Netherlands, visiting the Queen of the Netherlands
3-8 May 2007 The United States of America, visiting President and Mrs Bush
11-12 July 2007 Belgium, visiting the King and Queen of the Belgians
20 November 2007 Malta
21-24 November 2007 Uganda
13-16 May 2008 Turkey, visiting President Abdullah Gul
21-22 October 2008 Slovenia, visiting the President of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Tuerk
23-24 October 2008 Slovakia, visiting the President of Slovakia, Mr Ivan Gasparovic
24 November- 28 November 2009 Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago
28 June-6 July 2010 Canada
6 July 2010 The United States of America
24- 25 November 2010 The United Arab Emirates at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan
25-28 November 2010 Oman at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said
17-20 May 2011 Ireland at the invitation of Preseident Mary McAleese
19-29 October 2011 Australia

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