Stalin and the West were on tense terms in the 1950s, but not all the communist states toed the line. Marshal Josef Tito founded the state of Yugoslavia, a mishmash of ethnic communities in the Balkan region, in 1945, and kept it free from Soviet control, albeit still communist.

On this day, March 16, 1951 after a formal invitation from Britain, Marshal Tito arrived in London, greeted by a Royal Navy escort, the Duke of Edinburgh, the foreign secretary, and head of state Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Tito was receiving aid from the West, and among the topics for discussion was something he could in return: Yugoslavia and Italy were laying claim to the region of Trieste, a port in northern Italy. Tito and the British discussed possible resolutions to the conflict, and Tito eventually give up claims to the land.