Billy Graham had a profound love and appreciation for the United Kingdom, and he established BGEA’s UK office in London in 1954. Over the course of his ministry, he held evangelistic outreaches in the United Kingdom on 21 different occasions—more than any other place outside the United States—and he preached to more than 8.6 million people over five decades.

Billy Graham was a frequent guest of Queen Elizabeth II during the course of their friendship, and he preached for the Royal Family four times at their private chapels. In addition to the UK, he and the queen also visited each other at the White House and in California.

Throughout the years, the queen reached out to Billy Graham for spiritual guidance, though he rarely shared much about their meetings. When asked, he would respond: “Good manners do not permit one to discuss the details of a private visit with Her Majesty, but I can say that I judge her to be a woman of rare modesty and character.”

Dr. David Bruce, former assistant to Billy Graham and now executive vice president of the Billy Graham Library and Billy Graham Archive and Research Center, had the opportunity to share more with Charlotte’s WBTV following the queen’s passing.