Queen refuses to display royal swords in Russia amid Ukraine conflict

Queen Elizabeth has refused to allow three royal swords to be displayed at the Kremlin Museums in Moscow, Russia in a stark show of disapproval to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

According to The Guardian, the 17th-century swords were earlier allowed to be loaned to the museums as part of an exhibition arranged by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who was sanctioned by the UK, EU and US earlier this month over his ties to Putin.

The publication also confirmed that permission to display the weapons was retracted as early as mid-February as Russian troops gathered on Ukraine’s border before invading it on February 24.

The move is the latest in an almost global cultural boycott of Russia, with several other European institutions also pulling out of exhibitions in Moscow.

The exhibition where the swords were to be showcased, titled The Duel: from Trial by Combat to a Noble Crime, was due to commence on March 4 but has since been ‘indefinitely delayed’.