News outlets are remembering Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away peacefully on Thursday at the age of 96. Over the decades, Billy Graham enjoyed a friendship with the queen and spoke highly of her warm, inviting spirit. After Billy Graham preached in London's Harringay Arena in 1954, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip invited him to preach the following year in their private chapel at the Royal Lodge.
In 1955, newspapers across the United Kingdom reported how the queen attended the Royal Lodge service in Windsor where Billy Graham preached.
Ronald and Nancy Reagan invited Billy Graham to meet with Queen Elizabeth in San Francisco in 1983.
In 1984, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother welcomed Billy and Ruth Graham to Sandringham, one of their royal residences.
Five years later, Billy Graham again met with Queen Elizabeth II. He wrote in his autobiography Just As I Am,
"I always found her very interested in the Bible and its message. After preaching at Windsor one Sunday, I was sitting next to the Queen at lunch. I told her I had been undecided until the last minute about my choice of sermon and had almost preached on the healing of the crippled man in John 5. Her eyes sparkled and she bubbled over with enthusiasm, as she could do on occasion. 'I wish you had!' she exclaimed. 'That is my favorite story.'" >>Read more stories about Billy Graham's friendship with the queen.
Billy and Ruth Graham talk with Queen Elizabeth II in 1984. "My father has had a long relationship with Queen Elizabeth and others in her family, beginning in the 1950s, and I have heard him comment that she is a believer in Christ," recalled Franklin Graham, who shared the Gospel in London in July during the U.K. God Loves You Tour. "The two of them had meaningful discussions over the years on spiritual issues. We don’t know details, because my father has a strict policy of maintaining the confidentiality of private conversations with world leaders during their lifetime."
