Return of Hong Kong and visit to China

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 until it was invaded by the Japanese during World War II (1941–1945). During the Opium Wars, Britain conquered the region by right of conquest and continued to grow its territory throughout the rest of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. The effort to reacquire the territory and the Portuguese-held territory of Macao began when the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) won a seat on the UN Security Council. In the 1970s, the PRC formally acknowledged but rejected British control over Hong Kong's administration.

Controversies occurred when Britain engaged in protracted negotiations to handover Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, which were made worse by what some saw as PRC saber-rattling. After years of diplomatic back-and-forth, including the first trip to Hong Kong by a British Prime Minister in office (Margaret Thatcher), the British finally consented to cede control of the region to China in 1984. In 1986, Queen Elizabeth paid the city a visit (her second trip to Hong Kong, the first occurring in 1975). As promised, on July 1, 1997, the land was formally transferred. At the official transfer, Prince Charles represented the monarchy.

The British Empire was already in the process of being dissolved when Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952. For many people, the British Empire's demise was symbolized by the transfer of Hong Kong. The 14 remaining territories still under the Crown's control were referred to as British Overseas Territories by Parliament in 2002.

• Year: 1997