We asked readers to share their memories of the Queen. Here are some of their responses.
Games volunteer rewarded with thanks
Summer 1994 …. The Commonwealth Games are literally days away, and on a sunny Saturday, a major event was to take place in Beacon Hill Park.
The guest of honour was to be Her Majesty the Queen. To help pull off something that had never been done before, government employees were offered the opportunity to assist in everything from parking to crowd control to cleanup afterwards, all strictly on a volunteer basis, but with a full day off on the Friday (with pay) to attend various orientation sessions, get their badges, special T-shirts and what have yous, plus an hour or so in the afternoon to get familiar with their own particular little area.
To all, the promise of the chance to be in the front row as the Queen went by was also offered, and although the parking lot volunteers in particular had their doubts, some volunteers were hopeful of the chance she may “pick me out” to say something to.
One of the orientation speakers explained how one must address the Queen should she seek out any kind of comment. First, she must initiate the conversation (“Hi Liz, how’s it goin’?” was NOT on the list). We were informed that if she does speak to you, you must address her as “Your Majesty” with your response, then use “Ma’am” should there be any further conversation. There were other items, such as how to bow, shake hands and even curtsey if and where appropriate.
Because of past theatre experience I was made “stage manager” for the afternoon performance, and for that honour, received, in addition to my bright red T-shirt, a second piece of string attached to a laminated badge which identified me as such. I also got to ensure the show ran properly, that cast and crew did what was needed when, etc.
Next day, the performance went off without a hitch. The sun was out, the temperature warm without being hot, Her Majesty was in attendance, and at the end the performers assembled themselves in a line to be inspected by and to greet the monarch. Stage crew, meanwhile, went about doing what crew folk do, unplugging lights, rolling cords, moving props and larger pieces toward the door. Or so we thought…
Instead, a member of the royal entourage sought me out. He asked if I could assemble the crew alongside the performers so they could also be thanked by the Queen.
Not a problem, I said, and in no time, the crew, dressed in their scarlet “Saturday In the Park” tees and black jeans, stood in line as the diminutive monarch moved through the crowd and approached the stage.
It was over in far less time than it has taken to jot it down. The Queen moved from my left to right, spoke briefly to the leaders of each of the three assembled troupes, then ambled past the crew, stopping once to inquire “and what was your duty?” to a rather stunned young man who was suddenly stricken mute. As he froze, wide-eyed, she gave him a smile and moved on — to me, at the end of the line. Her retainer, who never seemed to stop whispering in her ear, explained that I had been the stage manager. The exchange between the Queen and I was as follows:
“Thank you, sir”
“You’re welcome, Ma’am” (A breach of royal protocol! You should’ve called her Your Majesty, you dolt!)
And she was gone. With a royal wave to the still-large crowd, she was whisked off to her next gathering.
But I can say I met her, and even exchanged words with her, brief though they were. I will never forget it. And I still have the shirt and the two badges.
Kevin M. Frye
Saanich
She became Queen on my birthday
I was a small child in England when Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth. The date was Feb. 6, 1952, which happened to be my 8th birthday. At my school, when it was someone’s birthday, at assembly we all sang Happy Birthday, but on this occasion the school principal announced that my Happy Birthday would not be sung as we were in mourning for King George. That was a long time ago, and I have followed Elizabeth’s reign with unconditional admiration, but to this date, I don’t think I have ever completely relinquished the disappointment and resentment I felt on that day!!
Nicky Kew
Victoria
Royals must have thought we were mad
I can recall the Queen and Prince Philip’s March 1983 visit to Victoria.
At the time, I was working as a clerk for the provincial government at an office located near the corner of Yates and Quadra. We somehow received word that after Her Majesty had finished her visit at the legislature that they would be driven on to another event by way of travelling along Quadra Street. A group of us ladies from the general office area walked a few doors down and stood on the street corner to wave to her. A short time later, sure enough they drove by and waved and even turned to take a good look at us. There we all were, standing on the corner in the wind and rain with no coats, no jackets and no umbrellas. They must have thought we’d gone completely mad! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear Philip’s comments about those crazy Canadian girls!
Shirley Waldon
Victoria
American soldier awestruck by arrival
Although I have no personal memory of meeting Queen Elizabeth II, I have a memory of how much her persona meant to the world in general and one person in particular.
The Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Victoria’s Inner Harbor on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the royal visit in 1971. It was on the evening of the gala dinner event with dignitaries at the Empress Hotel. I stood in the crowd waiting to see the couple emerge and return to Britannia, which flooded with bright lights, showing off the bow, navy blue hull, the white upper decks and gleaming gold trim; impressive in its own right.
The Queen and Prince Philip appeared on the bridge deck. Under the bright lights she was a tiny figure dressed in white, a dazzling tiara, and white fox stole, graciously waving to the crowd before her. Standing beside me in the crowd was a tall American soldier. His gaze was riveted on this scene, enthralled by the magic of it all. In a hushed voice he said: “My God! We don’t have anything like this at home.”
Wherever our Queen made appearances she represented her life of service with quiet dignity and her own personal style.
M. Shirley Hamilton
Royal Oak
A true treasure, we were lucky to have her
Here is a photo of the Queen in my hometown in Saskatchewan in 1959. I’m the little girl on the left. She smiled at me and I was thrilled. Years later I sang with the choir for the Commonwealth Games here in Victoria. And during the Queen’s Jubilee in June in London I glimpsed her as her motorcade drove by.
The Queen was a true international treasure. We were lucky to have her for so long.
Rosalie Jones Knogler
Saluting the monarch at home and away
My first encounter with Queen Elizabeth II was in 1951 when she was Princess Elizabeth. As a member of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) Cadet Corp, we were given the honour to post an honour guard with colours on parade along the route to Oak Bay. As the motorcade passed by, I could see the princess nudge Prince Philip and say to him the colours, and he promptly looked over and saluted. The Queen was always aware of protocols.
My second experience was when the Queen unveiled a memorial to the late Princess Mary (Princess Royal) on the Royal Scots Memorial at Princess Street Gardens in Edinburgh in 1968. After the unveiling, the Queen turned and started towards me. When I realized what was happening, I thought what the devil am I going to do. I said to myself, I have saluted the Queen’s commission all my life, this is a chance to salute the Queen. She then thanked me for travelling so far to be part of the ceremony. That day remains one of my most memorable.
P.T. Barber CD
RSM Retired
Parents thrilled to attend garden parties
What a thrill it was to see Queen Elizabeth II in 1971 at Vancouver City Hall where I was working as a 20 year old. Mayor Tom Campbell received the Queen on the expansive driveway and although the staff were not invited to be outside, we had lovely views of the Queen and her entourage through the large windows of our office on the main floor. There were many photos taken as we watched Queen Elizabeth II smile and wave in her splendid pink ensemble. I felt very privileged to witness her visit.
On another occasion (1981) my husband and I took our two-year-old daughter (also named Elizabeth) to see the Queen in the Inner Harbour in Victoria on a drizzly, dark evening where we caught a glimpse of the Queen and Prince Phillip disembarking from the Royal Yacht Britannia.
I remember my parents bringing us to Government House in Victoria on several occasions to sign the visitor book. It was thought, at that time, if one signed the book one would receive an invitation to the Queen’s garden party. My parents attended several garden parties over the years and my father remembers wearing a top hat and coat to one party and how the sheep were cordoned off the lawn at another garden party. Although my parents were not introduced, they enjoyed the ambience and seeing Royal Family members up close. The garden parties were always a highlight for them while visiting relatives in England.
Edna Elizabeth Vaines
Victoria
PM let us have prime viewing spot
My memory of the Queen is in fact when she was still a princess, touring South Africa in 1947. I had just turned 18 when the Royal Family (King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret) opened parliament in South Africa.
I was the nanny for William and Cynthia Astley-Jones, with whom I travelled from England. Their mother, Alberta, was the goddaughter of the King and named after him. We were invited by General Smuts (prime minister of South Africa) to a special spot by the gates to see the royals drive into parliament. They were very close and waved directly to us. I’m now 93 and still remember this event very well.
Audrey J Hall
Brentwood Bay
Queen was driving behind our car
I have two special memories of the Queen. One was at Windsor Castle where the Queen often spent time. Although I have lived in Victoria for many, many years I have also returned back to England for visits as it is my homeland. We were driving in our car through Windsor Park and the person driving our car saw through the car mirror that the car behind was driven by the Queen. She turned off to head down to the castle — she was alone.
The other special memory was from when she was here in Victoria. I had seen her up close to the Gorge Waterway by Admirals Walk but something made me think she would be driven along Gorge Road as she left there. I hurried home and waited along Gorge Road close to my house. I was right, she was driven by and waved her hand at me.
Jean Buydens
Seeing the funny side of a movie flop
It was a wet and dreary day in March 1983, and I dragged my three children from our home in North Saanich to Victoria’s Inner Harbour. My son, nine, and my two daughters, six and one, were unceremoniously and none too enthusiastically dressed in rain gear, bundled into the car and driven into downtown Victoria as their mother was obsessed with getting a close-up experience of seeing Queen Elizabeth.
We arrived at the Inner Harbour and got the perfect vantage spot just perpendicular to where the Queen and Prince Philip would disembark from the tender that was bringing them from their yacht to the Legislative Buildings.
I had brought my 8mm camera and was delighted that I would be taking movies of this splendid occasion, without sound, of course. We had a totally unobstructed view, and I was beyond excited.
As more and more people started to gather and some shoving and pushing ensued, I stood my ground maintaining my spot and tried to keep my children entertained. Several plain-clothed members of the RCMP appeared on scene to keep order of the large crowd. My position was right up front with only the stanchions and chain link holding us back from the water’s edge.
Shortly thereafter, the police instructed everyone to move back about eight to 10 feet from this barrier. There was some confusion, but I dutifully took my children — the baby in a stroller and moved back accordingly. No one else did. For several minutes, I expected the police to enforce this order and I would still have my unobstructed view. That did not happen. The crowds jostled for their spots, filled in the gaps and I was lost in a maze of bodies 10 feet back. I couldn’t believe it! I had been up at the crack of dawn, driven into town, hauled my young children and waited in the rain to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity and now this.
After what seemed a very long wait, the Queen’s tender finally arrived, and she disembarked. I could barely see over people’s heads. Wanting to take movies of this event, and leaving my kids, I literally crawled on my hands and knees excusing myself saying I would not obstruct their view and just wanted to get some pictures. As I started to film, crouched down in a sea of feet and legs, I couldn’t hear the usual hum of the film moving within the camera. This was odd, I thought and then to add insult to injury, I realized I had not put any batteries into the camera. There would be no movies of this momentous event. I was beyond consolable.
Not wanting to appear like a complete fool, I continued to “pretend” taking movies and saw Her Majesty briefly as she was greeted by the welcoming dignitaries. I was done. I crawled back toward my children only to hear my one-year-old screaming her lungs out and the other two trying to appease her, without success. What an absolute disaster. Thirty-nine years later, I can chuckle about it, and chalk it up as one of those absurd occurrences, but I did see the Queen albeit through a tiny viewfinder.
Susan Layng
Victoria
No regrets over giving up invitation
In 1973 I happened to have a responsible position with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting held in Ottawa (the first for Canada). I received an invitation to be introduced to the Queen and Prince Philip. I was overwhelmed. We had a very hard-working janitor around the offices and he kept talking about the Queen and how he had hoped all his life that he could meet her. I gave him my invitation. Wonder what has happened since. Do I regret it — no, but I kind of wish we could have both met her.
Jeanette Elsom
Sidney
Daughter delighted to hand over flowers
A photo of the Queen that you ran on Sept. 9 has a bit of a backstory for my daughter and I. On the left, you can see Nicole just peeking into the photo. She had just given her flowers to the Queen.
We had heard that the Queen might be seen downtown so as we drove down West Saanich Road from Prospect Lake we stopped to buy flowers at the side of the road. As we arrived at the Empress we were luckily in the right spot to see Queen Elizabeth. My daughter Nicole was not able to get to the front of the crowd, but at the last minute they let her through.
The Queen accepted Nicole’s flowers. Many bouquets were passed to her lady in waiting, but as the Queen entered her car Nicole said: “Mom she kept my flowers!”
We were thrilled!
Robin Zorkin
Victoria
Party at the palace was magical occasion
In 2009 my two sisters and I applied for an invitation to a royal event as we heard Canadians could do. It was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the passing of our Scottish mother who came to Canada as a war bride in 1946 on the Queen Mary along with her two children — myself and my brother George. I had been born in Scotland and named after Princess Margaret Rose the Queen’s sister.
We sent a request to the London High Commissioner to attend a garden party at Holyrood House in Scotland which was to be held in the summer of 2009, and received an answer that unfortunately the Holyrood House garden party guest list was completely full but would we like to come to Buckingham Palace for the garden party there on July 7, 2009.
My sisters Linda Gordon and Doris Burow and I and our friend Gerry Lavigne prepared our outfits and headed to London for the occasion.
We managed to see the Queen and Prince Philip from about four feet away as they did a walkabout in the gardens behind Buckingham Palace.
Amazing memories of a magical time.
Margaret Rose Mercer
