The Queen’s visits to Dartmouth
In the year of the Diamond Jubilee, Dartmouth will be celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s 60th Year on the throne with the rest of the country. But Dartmouth has a stronger connection than most with our long-lived monarch – a connection that started in 1939 when Princess Elizabeth first visited with her father George V, the Queen and her younger sister Margaret in that year . Arriving on the Royal Yacht, Victoria and Albert, the day before Divisions at the Britannia Royal Naval College, the family were on an ‘informal’ visit (meaning the King wore a ‘lounge suit’ on his first day rather than full uniform) and the Princesses were both fully involved with the events. They even both got to plant trees in the BRNC grounds. The next day though, when her father and mother were busy inspecting the cadets as they passed out, the two princesses were escorted around the grounds by a cadet by the name of Philip Mountbatten – a member of the exiled Greek Royal Family. The 18-year-old cadet had met Elizabeth before, but at this meeting something clicked between them, and they started exchanging letters. This blossomed into a romance and In 1946 Philip asked Elizabeth’s father for her hand
in marriage. The King said yes, as long as he waited to announce the engagement until after Elizabeth turned 21 in 1947. Prince Philip also gave up his Greek and other titles and even converted from Greek Orthodox to Anglicanism to ensure the match went ahead, which it did in 1947.
In 1952 it was Philip who delivered the news of the
King’s death to his young wife – and that she had become Queen.
Crowned in 1953, an event which was said to have been the start of the television age in the UK as so many bought new sets to watch the ceremony, she would cement her connection to Dartmouth with regular visits. She showed her love and affection for the town three years into her reign by becoming patron of the Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta – a move that was gleefully accepted by the town and celebrated massively at the opening ceremony. Her gesture didn’t bring good weather – as gales and freezing conditions brought about the ‘coldest regatta on history’.
She was supposed to visit in 1958 as
part of a long tour of the South West - but she fell ill and the Duke of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144