queen elizabeth first visit to kenya

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The day Princess Elizabeth became Queen

T reetops hotel in the heart of the Kenya forest is renowned as the place where Princess Elizabeth first heard the news that her father had died and that she was to be Queen. This, however, is not quite the full story.

While the princess was certainly at Treetops on the night her father, George VI, died 60 years ago on 6 February, 1952, she was not told until the following afternoon, by which time she had returned to a fishing lodge called Sagana, 20 miles away, that she had been given as a wedding present. It was there, beside a trout stream in the foothills of Mount Kenya, that Prince Philip broke the news.

The princess and her husband had flown from Heathrow to Kenya on 31 January. They were seen off by the king, too ill with lung cancer to make the tour himself. The crowd gave him a sympathetic cheer as he stood in the bitter cold to wave goodbye to his daughter.

It was a dangerous time in the British colony. The Mau Mau campaign had just broken out across the White Highlands. The officials responsible for the princess's tour of Kenya, Australia and New Zealand felt unable to guarantee her safety while she was in Kenya. It was only fear of ridicule that stopped them cancelling the African leg of the trip.

Three days after they arrived, the royal couple travelled up-country to Sagana and from there they drove after lunch on 5 February to Treetops, the game-viewing lodge built in a tree overlooking an elephant waterhole. They planned to spend the night watching wildlife, enjoying a respite from their duties before continuing the rest of their tour.

Treetops is old hat now, but in 1952 it was the only place of its kind in the world. It was the brainchild of Eric Walker, owner of the Outspan hotel in Nyeri, and his wife, Lady Bettie, daughter of the Earl of Denbigh. The two of them were hosts for the visit, along with the naturalist Jim Corbett, after whom the Corbett National Park in India is named. Retired from India, Corbett lived in a cottage at the Outspan previously occupied by Lord Baden-Powell.

Walker was a colourful character of the kind that gravitated naturally towards Kenya in colonial days. Private secretary to Baden-Powell before the Great War, he had been shot down while in the Royal Flying Corps, but had escaped from prison camp with a pair of wirecutters that Baden-Powell had hidden inside a gift of ham. He then walked across Germany to the Dutch border.

Needing money later to marry Lady Bettie, he had sailed four boatloads of liquor to America during Prohibition and sold his cargo over the side, just outside territorial waters. A shootout ashore had led to a warrant for his arrest after a corrupt state trooper had been wounded. Fleeing to Canada, he married Lady Bettie and emigrated to Kenya, where he built the Outspan hotel.

Walker laid down strict ground rules for the Treetops visit. No journalists were allowed, as it was believed the scent of the additional bodies would frighten wildlife. No cameras either, because the princess needed a break. Spearmen at the edge of the forest kept intruders at bay as the royals arrived at the waterhole and climbed the rickety ladder to the three-bedroomed branch hotel at the top.

The nearest elephant was only eight yards away as Lady Pamela Mountbatten and Commander Mike Parker followed. There were baboons, warthog and bushbuck, too. The princess spent much of the afternoon filming with her cine-camera, so engrossed that she asked for tea to be served on the viewing platform rather than miss anything by going inside.

Leopards prowled Treetops after dark. Corbett sat up all night with a rifle at the top of the ladder. The princess was up again at dawn, testing the light with her meter as two rhinos squabbled over the waterhole. After breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, the royals climbed down at 10am for the return to Sagana. "I will come again," the princess promised happily, as they were driven away.

In England, meanwhile, "Hyde Park Corner" was under way, the coded plan for arrangements surrounding the death of the king. At No 10, Winston Churchill was informed at once that the king had died in his sleep at Sandringham, but it was four hours before word reached the princess. A telegram to Government House in Nairobi could not be decoded because the keys to the safe holding the codebook were unavailable.

At lunchtime the editor of the East African Standard telephoned the princess's secretary, Martin Charteris, at the Outspan to ask if the teleprinter reports were true. Shocked, Charteris contacted Sagana, where Prince Philip reacted as if he had been hit by a thunderbolt.

Rallying swiftly, he took his 25-year-old wife for a walk in the garden where, at 2.45pm on 6 February, he told her that her father was dead and she was now Queen and head of the Commonwealth.

She reacted with the same sense of duty that she has shown ever since, immediately discussing the practicalities of getting back to England and writing letters of apology for the cancellation of the tour. Charteris thought her "very composed, master of her fate", as she left Sagana towards dusk that evening.

She was driven to a nearby airstrip, where a Dakota waited to fly her home. The Queen was unmistakably under strain as she emerged from the car, but she managed a subdued smile for the crowd. She boarded the plane with none of the usual pomp and took off at once.

The mask slipped once they were airborne. The Queen left her seat after a while. Her face was set when she returned, but it was obvious to the other passengers that she had been in the loo, having a good long cry.

Nicholas Best is working on the biography of Eric Sherbrooke Walker, the founder of Treetops

• Queen Elizabeth II
• The Observer
• Prince Philip

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The day Elizabeth became queen in a treehouse in Kenya

It had been “a perfectly happy day,” one newspaper later wrote of Feb. 5, 1952.

King George VI, who had been ill, was feeling well enough to go hare hunting at his Sandringham estate.

“The King, a great shot, was on top of his form,” his neighbor Lord Fermoy said.

George dined with his wife and younger daughter, Princess Margaret, before retiring to his bedroom at 10:30 p.m.

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Thousands of miles away in Kenya, his older daughter, Princess Elizabeth, had also had a wonderful day, seeing and filming with her handheld movie camera rhinos, warthogs, baboons and a herd of elephants, pink from rolling in the dust.

But the next day, Feb. 6, when Elizabeth became sovereign? The queen would always commemorate it with a day of quiet reflection. This date marks when her beloved father, King George VI , 56, was found to have passed away in his sleep.

“It is a day that, even after 70 years, I still remember as much for the death of my father, King George VI, as for the start of my reign,” she wrote in an anniversary statement in February.

Queen Elizabeth died Thursday at 96. She reigned longer than any other British monarch, 70 years.

The story of the day and hour of Elizabeth’s accession to the throne has been told many times, but it remains a captivating tale. It is history with echoes of Arthurian romance.

On the morning of her father’s death, 25-year-old Elizabeth was perched in a treehouse in Kenya from which she’d watched a herd of elephants led by matriarchs come to a watering hole.

The epic, unlikely love story between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

“There has been much speculation, not least because of historical parallels, about when precisely Elizabeth became Queen,” wrote Sally Bedell Smith in her biography of the monarch. “It undoubtedly happened when she was atop the African fig tree, which draws a romantic line to the moment in 1558 when Elizabeth I, seated next to an oak tree at Hatfield House, heard that the death of her sister, Queen Mary, meant she was the monarch, also at age twenty-five.”

For many months, King George — known to today’s generations for overcoming a debilitating stutter in the 2010 Oscar-winning film “ The King’s Speech ” — had been in declining health.

“The King, a heavy smoker, underwent a left total pneumonectomy in September 1951 for what euphemistically was called ‘structural abnormalities’ of his left lung, but what in reality was a carcinoma,” wrote Rolf F. Barth of Ohio State University in a “pathologists’ reassessment” last year.

“His physicians withheld this diagnosis from him, the public, and the medical profession,” he and co-author L. Maximilian Buja wrote.

The history of royal funerals: Lavish, moving, crowded and sometimes bizarre

Too ill to travel, 56-year-old George tasked Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, with undertaking a months-long tour of the Commonwealth, in the twilight of the British Empire.

George saw his daughter off at London Airport on Jan. 31, 1952. Newspapers said the king looked “well and cheerful.” One of his biographers would later suggest “haggard” as a better description. The crowd let out a cheer as he waved goodbye to Elizabeth.

It would be the last time the two saw each other.

The young couple traveled to Kenya, where a BBC newsreel shows Elizabeth in a print dress and Philip in a white naval uniform, bedecked in medals, emerging from the BOAC Argonaut plane.

“When the royal couple stepped off into the hot sunshine of Nairobi, no one knew then that the girl who had arrived here as Princess Elizabeth would leave five days later as queen,” the British broadcaster would report.

From the Kenyan capital, Elizabeth and Philip, accompanied by a small entourage, traveled three hours to Sagana Lodge , a villa alongside a trout stream, presented to them as a wedding gift from the Kenyan state.

“It was a dangerous time in the British colony. The Mau Mau campaign had just broken out across the White Highlands,” wrote historian Nicholas Best in the Observer. “The officials responsible for the princess’s tour of Kenya, Australia and New Zealand felt unable to guarantee her safety while she was in Kenya. It was only fear of ridicule that stopped them canceling the African leg of the trip.”

On Feb. 5, the couple traveled further into the forest, to the Treetops Hotel, a game-viewing lodge. Their three-bed cabin was reached by a rickety ladder and built into the branches of an ancient fig tree, overlooking a waterhole and salt lick.

“Treetops is old hat now, but in 1952 it was the only place of its kind in the world,” wrote Best , who has been researching lodge founder Eric Sherbrooke Walker, a colorful character, former bootlegger and friend of royals.

In an interview, Best told The Washington Post that Walker positioned local men with spears at the edge of the forest to deter journalists, out of concern for Elizabeth’s privacy and also because the smell of more humans would frighten the wildlife.

Naturalist and big-game hunter Jim Corbett, who accompanied the couple, spent the darkest hours of the night at the entrance of the lodge with a shotgun, to keep curious leopards away, Best said.

On Feb. 6, because of the distance and difficulty of communication, it took hours for the news of the king’s death to reach rural Kenya. The message was relayed to Philip’s private secretary, and from Philip to his wife when they’d returned to Sagana Lodge.

Without ceremony or even awareness, but in accordance with British tradition, Elizabeth had become queen.

The newspaper front pages rang out, “Long Live Queen Elizabeth,” while noting, “Her Majesty, pale with grief, leaves by air for home.”

The new queen stayed composed, except for one moment on the flight back to London. “The Queen left her seat after a while. Her face was set when she returned, but it was obvious to the other passengers that she had been in the loo, having a good long cry,” Best wrote in the Guardian .

When the plane arrived, a black dress was quickly brought onboard so she could disembark in appropriate mourning attire.

The next day, she read a proclamation declaring her reign:

“By the sudden death of my dear father, I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty. My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over.”

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Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Kenya on this day in 1952, on the first stop of their 6-month Commonwealth Tour , which ended in just days after the King’s sudden death and her accession to the Throne . In Nairobi, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke were welcomed by Air Commodore L.T. Pankhurst, Air Officer Commanding of the East Africa Command.

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The following day, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh began their day with a service at Nairobi Cathedral, before a Garden Party at Government House in Nairobi, where they received many guests from Kenyan society.

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The following day, the Princess and the Duke waved to crowds from the balcony of City Hall in Nairobi, before the Duke participated in a polo match at Nyeri.

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The next day, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke arrived at Sagana Lodge in Nyeri County, which had been a wedding gift to them from the Kenyan Colony. After a safari, the evening was spent at Treetops Hotel, where a ‘Princess went up the tree and came down a Queen’, after the King’s sudden death during the night .

Images from Princess Elizabeth's visit to Kenya 65 years ago, in 1952 #SapphireJubilee . pic.twitter.com/AqoChGIFp6 — H i s t o r yKE (@HistoryKE) February 6, 2017

Princess Elizabeth and the Duke had completed their  extensive Tour of Canada in the Autumn , following a busy  Summer , with the  Opening of the Festival of Britain , the  Danish State Visit , the  Norwegian State Visit , as the Princess and the Duke, who had  given up his Naval Career ,  became full-time working Royals  in the last few months of King George VI’s life, spending  Christmas at Sandringham  and then embarking on this major Commonwealth Tour on behalf of the King and Queen.

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Watch Video: Queen Elizabeth's Visit to Kenya 72 Years Ago, Shortly Before Coming Queen Enchants Many

• A video of Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Kenya in 1952 emerged and showed some of the rare and happy moments he had during her visit to Kenya in 1952
• Princess Elizabeth became queen while touring Kenya with her husband Prince Phillip who was a duke then
• In Kenya, the beautiful princess inspected a guard of honour and toured Pumwani Hospital as well as Sagana lodge in Kenya

As Kenyans host United Kingdom's King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, a video of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth's visit to the country 72 years ago has emerged.

Princess Elizabeth lands in Kenya

In the black-and-white video, the then princess descended the steps of the plane in a flowery dress, cap and gloves; she was also swinging a handbag from her forearms.

"The princess and the duke were greeted by Kenya's governor, Sir Phillip Mitchell, then went to inspect the guard of honour that had been out in place in her honour," said the narrator on the British Pathe YouTube channel.

Along with governors to welcome the princess were various chiefs brilliantly dressed in traditional regalia and leopard skins.

"The contrast we see today is a tribute to the men and women of all races who have made it Nairobi a great centre of commerce and finance, the capital of the colony and the seat of the East African High Commission," she said in her speech.

Elibeth's father dies

During her visit, the princess also toured Pumwani Maternity Hospital, where she inspected the conditions of modern nursing in the hospital.

They also went to the Sagana Hunting Lodge at the foot of Mt Kenya where they were presented the lodge as a wedding present.

The following day, the princess met over 100 children drawn from all races. Elizabeth's father died while she was on the visit to Kenya, and she assumed his seat and the title queen.

Kisii elders ask King Charles III to apologise during visit

In another story, the Mwenyegitinge elders from the Abagusii community demanded an apology from the UK king for alleged colonial crimes during his visit.

According to George Nyakundi, the community's houses were demolished, their artefacts stolen, and their leaders's heads were preserved in the UK.

Apart from the apology, the community asked visiting King Charles to build them museums, return their artefacts as well as heads of Gusii heroes.

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• International

The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to Kenya

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will undertake a State Visit to Kenya, from Tuesday 31st October to Friday 3rd November 2023.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will undertake a State Visit to Kenya, from Tuesday 31st October to Friday 3rd November 2023, to celebrate the warm relationship between the two countries and the strong and dynamic partnership they continue to forge.

The visit is at the invitation of President Ruto and comes as Kenya prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence. His Majesty’s first visit to a Commonwealth nation as King is therefore to the country in which Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began, having acceded to the throne in Kenya in February 1952.

The King and Queen will visit Nairobi City County, Mombasa County and surrounding areas. Their Majesties’ programme will reflect the ways in which Kenya and the United Kingdom are working together, notably to boost mutual prosperity, tackle climate change, promote youth opportunity and employment, advance sustainable development and create a more stable and secure region.

During the visit, Their Majesties will meet President Ruto and the First Lady as well as and other members of the Kenyan Government, UN staff, CEOs, faith leaders, young people, future leaders and Kenyan Marines training with UK Royal Marines. The King will also attend an event to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate the late Professor Wangari Maathai, together with Wangari’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai. The King and Queen’s programme will celebrate the close links between the British and Kenyan people in areas such as the creative arts, technology, enterprise, education and innovation. The visit will also acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history, including the Emergency (1952-1960). His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya. Together, Their Majesties will tour a new museum dedicated to Kenya’s history and will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens, as well as visiting the site of the declaration of Kenya’s independence in 1963.

The King and Queen’s programme also will include:

Their Majesties will be greeted in Nairobi with a ceremonial welcome at State House and will each attend bilateral meetings – The King with The President and The Queen with the First Lady, before The President hosts a State Banquet at State House.

His Majesty will visit the United Nations Office at Nairobi, to learn more about the work of UN Habitat and the UN Environment Programme. UNON is the only UN Headquarters in the Commonwealth.

His Majesty will attend a technology showcase, meeting Kenyan entrepreneurs who are driving forward innovation in the country’s tech sector. Kenya has the third largest start up eco-system in Africa.

His Majesty will host a reception focussed on Kenya’s young people and future leaders across development, trade, media, the creative arts and environmental conservation.

Their Majesties will visit a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, joining British and Kenyan military personnel in an act of Remembrance, before hearing about the Commission’s recent work to ensure all those who supported Britain’s efforts in both World Wars are commemorated.

The King and Queen will visit Nairobi National Park to witness the vital conservation work being undertaken by the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is integral to Kenya’s thriving tourism industry.

Her Majesty, Patron of the equine welfare charity Brooke, will hear how the charity is working with the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals to rescue donkeys at risk and promote their welfare.

The King, as Captain General of the Royal Marines, and The Queen, will visit Mtongwe Naval Base in Mombasa. There, Their Majesties will witness Kenyan Marines, trained by the Royal Marines, demonstrating a covert beach landing, showing defence collaboration in action.

The Queen will meet survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, learning how they are supported and sharing her own insights from working in this area.

The King will meet faith leaders from Mombasa’s diverse community, hearing how they are working together to promote harmony amongst the city’s population.

Notes to Editors

Previous visits to kenya.

The King has undertaken three previous official visits to Kenya, in 1971, 1978 and 1987. Both Their Majesties have also previously visited the country privately.

Royal Communications - +44 (0) 20 7930 4832

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The Queen of travel

Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022

Queen Elizabeth II leaves Fiji during a royal tour in February 1977. Serge Lemoine/Getty Images

The Queen of travel Journeys of a lifetime

By Francesca Street and Mark Oliver, CNN September 13, 2022

S he was traveling the moment she ascended to the throne, and for much of the next seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II criss-crossed the world. Newly married and still just a princess, Britain’s future monarch was in Kenya with husband Prince Philip in February 1952 when she learned of her father’s death and her new regal status.

During her reign she would visit more than 120 countries, witnessing first-hand the revolutions in global travel that shrank the world as her own influence over it diminished.

The Queen lived through the advent of the Jet Age, flew supersonic on the Concorde, saw regimes change, countries form and dissolve, the end of the British Empire and the rise of globalization.

Here are some of the most memorable travel moments from her 70 years as monarch.

November 24-25, 1953

Less than six months after she was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, Queen Elizabeth set off on her travels again. Her debut official state trip was an epic six-month tour of the Commonwealth -- the alliance of nations which were once British colonies. Traveling by air, sea and land she visited several countries, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. First stop was the North Atlantic island of Bermuda, a British territory she would visit a further four times during her reign. The trip would go on to include stops in Jamaica, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Aden (now part of Yemen), Uganda, Malta and Gibraltar.

December 19-20, 1953

At Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in June 1953, Queen Salote Tupou III of the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga won over the British public when she sat, rain-soaked, in her open carriage. They also took an interest when Elizabeth returned the visit later in the year. The two queens enjoyed an open-air feast, watched Tongan dancers and admired a tortoise that legend said was presented by explorer Captain James Cook to the King of Tonga in 1777.

December 23, 1953 – January 30, 1954

New zealand.

The Queen voyaged to New Zealand during the Antipodean summer of 1953-4. Over the course of the trip, it’s estimated that three out of every four New Zealanders got a glimpse of her. In preparation for the Queen’s visit, some New Zealand sheep were dyed in the UK flag colors of red, white and blue. The Queen returned to the country nine times over the years, including in 2002 as she marked half a century on the throne.

April 10-21, 1954

Ceylon (now sri lanka).

A visit to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, coincided with the Queen’s 28th birthday. She visited the city of Colombo where crowds joined together to sing her “Happy Birthday.” She also visited the central city of Kandy, where she watched a procession featuring a reported 140 elephants and met local chiefs.

April 8-11, 1957

The Queen had visited France as a young princess, but her first state visit as monarch was a glamorous affair. She attended the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, visited the Palace of Versailles, and dined at the Louvre with then-President Rene Coty. The Queen also laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe and visited the Scottish Church of Paris.

October 17-20, 1957

United states.

Having met President Harry S. Truman in Washington in 1951 during a visit before ascending to the throne, Elizabeth was no stranger to America when she arrived on her first trip as Queen. Her 1957 visit marked the 350th anniversary of the first permanent British settlement on the continent, in Jamestown. The monarch attended a college football game at the former Byrd Stadium in Maryland where she watched the home team lose to North Carolina. She met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the White House and later traveled to New York, where she and Prince Philip drove through the streets and admired panoramic views of the city from the Empire State Building.

February 1-16, 1961

The Queen and Prince Philip visited Pakistan in 1961, arriving in the port city of Karachi after completing a visit to India as part of a wider tour of South Asia. She drove through the streets of Karachi in an open-top car, before going on to visit Lahore, where a torchlight military tattoo took place in her honor and Prince Philip played in a game of polo.

February 26 to March 1, 1961

In Nepal, the Queen inspected troops in Kathmandu and met Gurkha ex-servicemen in Pokhara. The monarch rode on an elephant and visited the Hanuman Dhoka Palace complex in Kathmandu. She took part in the rather grim spectacle of a tiger hunt although didn’t shoot any animals herself. She instead recorded the experience on cine camera – a recording device that she often carried with her on her earlier foreign trips.

March 2-6, 1961

The Queen visited pre-revolution Iran at the end of her 1961 South Asian tour. Hosted by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, she toured ancient monuments including the ruins of Persepolis, once a capital of the Achaemenid Empire, later declared a World Heritage Site. She also saw Sheikh Lotfollah mosque in Esfahan and admired collections of the Archaeological Museum of Iran.

May 5, 1961

Vatican city.

In 1961, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Vatican. Dressed all in black, the Queen had an audience with Pope John XXIII, also attended by Prince Philip. She returned to the Vatican three more times during her reign, meeting Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis.

November 9-20, 1961

Bombing incidents in the capital Accra left officials worried about the safety of the Queen’s visit to Ghana but, after deliberation, UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan confirmed it would go ahead. During the trip, the Queen famously shared a dance with Ghana’s then-president, Kwame Nkrumah. At the height of Cold War uncertainty, this seemingly innocuous moment was seen as significant in ensuring Ghana remained affiliated to Britain and not the USSR.

May 18-28, 1965

West germany (now germany).

The Queen’s visit to West Germany and West Berlin was viewed as a symbolic gesture of goodwill in the post-World War II landscape. It was the first royal trip to German territory for more than 50 years and photographs such as one of the Queen and Prince Philip in a car driving past the Brandenburg Gate had symbolic resonance.

November 5-11, 1968

Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning British monarch to visit South America when she landed in Brazil in late 1968. During the trip, the Queen wore a striking jewelry set made of Brazilian aquamarine, gifted to her in 1953 by the Brazilian president and added to over time. The monarch also attended a football match between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and presented the winner’s trophy to Brazilian footballer Pele.

October 18-25, 1971

On the first of two trips to Turkey -- the second took place in 2008 -- the Queen visited the Gallipoli peninsula to remember the Allied soldiers who died there during World War I. The monarch also explored the ruins of the ancient Greek empire city of Ephesus. A media highlight of the visit came when she was photographed leaping ashore from a barge, after disembarking from her ship, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

February 10-15, 1972

Accompanied by Prince Philip and daughter Princess Anne, the Queen was greeted on arrival in Bangkok by a carpet of flower petals. The monarch was given a golden key to the city of Bangkok, attended a state banquet and visited Bang Pa-In Palace, the Thai royal family’s summer residence, north of the capital.

October 17-21, 1972

The Queen’s visit to Yugoslavia was her first trip to a communist country. The Central European country no longer exists -- the areas that the Queen visited are now part of Croatia. During her trip, she met Yugoslav political leader Josip Broz Tito and traveled on his famous Blue Train.

February 15-16, 1974

New hebrides (now vanuatu).

The Queen and Prince Philip visited the Pacific island archipelago of Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, in 1974. It’s said the royal couple’s visit to Vanuatu may have strengthened the belief among some locals on Tanna island that the Duke of Edinburgh was a divine being.

February 24-March 1, 1975

On her first of two visits to Mexico, the Queen toured ancient sites -- including the pyramids of Uxmal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monarch also received local crafts, met school children and attended a banquet. While she was driven through Mexico City, the Queen was showered in confetti.

February 17-20, 1979

Saudi arabia.

In 1979, the Queen became the first female head of state to visit Saudi Arabia, on a tour of Gulf States. At Riyadh Airport, she was met by King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, pictured. The outfits she wore on the trip were carefully designed in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s conservative dress code for women. The Queen arrived on a British Airways supersonic Concorde aircraft and during the visit attended camel races and toured the National Museum.

October 26-27, 1982

The Queen visited Tuvalu, a group of nine islands in the South Pacific, in 1982. Upon arrival, the Queen and Prince Philip were carried in a flower-filled canoe from sea to shore. Thirty years later, in 2012, Prince William visited Tuvalu with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, who drank a coconut from a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth on this 1982 visit.

February 26 – March 6, 1983

On a star-studded trip to the United States, the Queen toured the 20th Century-Fox studios in Hollywood with then-First Lady Nancy Reagan and met Frank Sinatra, who she’d previously met in the 1950s, at a party given in her honor. The Queen and Prince Philip also visited Yosemite National Park in California, pictured.

November 10-14, 1983

The Queen returned to Kenya in 1983 for a state visit. When she was there 31 years previously, she'd learned that her father had passed away and she had become Britain’s reigning monarch. In 1983, the Queen and Prince Philip revisited the Treetops hotel, pictured, where they were staying at the time she was told the news.

October 12-18, 1986

The Queen’s trip to China was the first -- and, so far, only -- state visit by a British monarch to China. With Prince Philip by her side, the Queen visited the Great Wall of China, pictured, as well as the Forbidden City in Beijing.

October 17-20, 1994

In 1994, in another royal first, the Queen visited Russia. Over the three-day trip, the Queen met Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, pictured here with the monarch outside St Basil’s Cathedral, as well as Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The Queen also attended the Bolshoi Ballet. In her traditional Christmas Day speech broadcast later that year, the Queen reflected on how times had changed, noting she “never thought it would be possible in [her] lifetime” to attend a service in Moscow’s famous cathedral.

March 19-25, 1995

South africa.

In 1994, after apartheid ended, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth as a republic. The following year, the Queen traveled there, in a visit designed to renew ties between the two countries. The Queen met with President Nelson Mandela, pictured, and presented him with the Order of Merit.

October 12-18, 1997

The Queen visited India for the third time in 1997, her first public engagement since Princess Diana’s funeral just weeks before. The trip marked 50 years since India’s independence from Britain. Most memorably, the monarch visited the site of the Amritsar massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, of April 13, 1919. She also expressed regret at a state banquet in New Delhi for the “distressing” episode in which British soldiers gunned down hundreds of unarmed civilians. The gesture was seen by some as inadequate. “The Queen is doing everything she can to make India like her. But so far it does not seem to be working,” wrote the UK’s Independent newspaper at the time.

October 4-15, 2002

The Queen visited Canada many times. In 2002, her trip to the North American country coincided with her Golden Jubilee festivities, celebrating 50 years of her reign. During the trip, the Queen attended an ice hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, and dropped the ceremonial puck.

March 11-16, 2006

The Queen visited Australia 16 times as Head of State. In 2006, she traveled to Melbourne to open the Commonwealth Games. She was greeted by a welcoming party in Canberra, visited the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day service in St. Andrew’s Cathedral and toured Admiralty House, the Sydney residence of the Governor-General of Australia.

May 17-20, 2011

The Queen’s trip to Dublin was the first time a British monarch had set foot in the Irish Republic since its 1922 independence. At Dublin Castle the Queen delivered a well-received speech on the history of Anglo-Irish relations. In County Tipperary, she also toured the medieval Rock of Cashel, pictured, once a seat of power for Ireland’s ancient kings.

November 26-28, 2015

From 1949 to 1951, before she was Queen, Elizabeth and Prince Philip lived in Malta. In 2015, the monarch paid her last visit to the island, touring the Grand Harbour in a Maltese fishing boat and waving to members of the British Royal Navy.

United Kingdom

In the later years of her reign, the Queen cut back on foreign travel, passing on the mantle to the younger royals. In more recent years, royal tours have also been looked at with more skeptical eyes, as Britain reckons with its colonial past.

While she didn't travel abroad in the later years of her reign, the Queen continued to vacation in the UK. Most notably, the Queen’s ties with Scotland remained strong throughout her reign and her residence there, Balmoral Castle, was a favorite refuge. It was at Balmoral that the Queen died on September 8, 2022.

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Kenyans remember the queen's visits to their country.

As the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, residents of the Soy Club in Kenya, where the then-princess Queen Elizabeth II honeymooned with Prince Philip, have reacted to the monarch's death. Residents signed a book of condolences for the Queen and some held pictures of the late monarch and her father King George VI. Hassan Kosgei, the director of the Soy Club, recalls that the Queen spent two nights in the farmhouse that is now part of the Soy Club. In early February 1952, the Queen was in Kenya to visit British tea growers. She then went to Nanyuki for a stay at the famous Treetops Hotel, where she later received the news of her father's death.

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All the Best Photos of King Charles and Queen Camilla's Trip to Kenya

The King and Queen are undertaking a four-day State Visit to the Commonwealth country.

On the first day of his visit, the King made it clear that he does not intend to shy away from addressing this upfront as he began the trip with a keynote speech mentioning the “wrongdoings of the past.” During the banquet, he said, “The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret. There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged, as you said at the United Nations, a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty—and for that, there can be no excuse. In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs, and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected.”

This was Charles's first visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch (his and Camilla's two state visits thus far have been to Germany and France), and comes as Kenya celebrates 60 years of independence from British colonial rule. Kenya, too, was where Queen Elizabeth II's reign began— she acceded to the throne while at Sagana Lodge with Prince Philip .

Here, see all the best photos of Charles and Camilla's trip to Kenya:

Day 4: November 3, 2023

On their final day in Kenya, King Charles began with a visit to the Mahandry Mosque in Mombasa, where he met Babu Ali Said, chairperson of the Mandhry Mosque Committee.

Queen Camilla, meanwhile, met with charities that work to support survivors of sexual and gender based violence.

Queen Camilla with volunteers and staff from Sauti Ya Wanawake (the voice of women).

It was a rainy final day but that didn't dampen the King's spirits.

The King laughed during an interfaith meeting at Mombasa Memorial Cathedral.

Musicians greeted them at the Fort.

King Charles then toured Fort Jesus, in Mombasa Old Town.

Fort Jesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and King Charles spoke with Dr Fatma Twahir, the principal curator.

The King and Queen took a tuk tuk!

Camilla soon joined him, where they learned about the British, Portuguese, and Omani influences on the Fort’s architecture.

And they're off! President Ruto was at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa to see their deprature.

Day 3: November 2, 2023

King Charles and Queen Camilla began their third day with a visit to Mtongwe Naval Base.

They were joined once again by President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto.

Camilla kept cool under a parasol.

They watched the Kenya Marines demonstrate a covert beach landing.

King Charles received a neckerchief and a badge from Kenyan Scouts during a visit to Nyali beach in Mombasa.

He met with community elders on the beach.

He looked deep in conversation.

After, the King visited Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi.

Long an advocate for sustainability, he planted young coral into an artificial reef.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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King Charles to acknowledge 'painful' history on state visit to Kenya

1st trip as monarch to commonwealth country will also focus on conservation, entrepreneurship.

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When King Charles is in Kenya a few days from now, he plans to do some of the things he usually does on his trips at home or abroad: check out local conservation efforts, meet young people, promote entrepreneurship.

But Charles's first visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch will also, as Buckingham Palace said, "acknowledge the more painful aspects of the U.K. and Kenya's shared history," which includes the violent and bloody Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s.

In doing so, Charles may send further signals about how the monarchy will try to answer critical questions it faces amid a broader reckoning in our world with history and the impacts of colonialism.

The Mau Mau uprising is seen as a key turning point in Kenyan history and a significant step on the country's road to independence from British rule in 1963.

The possibility that Charles may make a statement on the Mau Mau uprising may show other countries "that the U.K. can address issues from its colonial past," said Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert and lecturer in law at Royal Holloway, University of London, in an interview.

"Of course, that might be more difficult in a Commonwealth realm where you still have the Crown in whose name arguably these things were done."

But doing it in an independent Commonwealth country "avoids all of that entanglement," said Prescott, and "might show a clearer way ahead of how actually, if you do want to become a republic, it's perfectly fine and actually, it doesn't necessarily mean the end to royal involvement or the end to the U.K.'s relationship with that country."

Carolyn Harris, a Toronto-based royal author and historian, will also be listening closely to what Charles says during the trip, which will take him and Queen Camilla to Kenya from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.

"The wording of King Charles III's official speeches in Kenya will be significant," Harris said via email.

If, beyond an acknowledgement of "the painful aspects of the past relationship between the United Kingdom and Kenya," there is a formal apology, Harris said, "that may set the tone for a future apology for the British Crown's role in transatlantic slavery."

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Charles has, Harris noted, already expressed support for further research concerning the Crown's role in the history of transatlantic slavery. Three months ago, another monarch, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, formally apologized for the Netherlands' role in slavery, she added.

Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi, a daughter of Dedan Kimathi, one of the leaders of the Mau Mau uprising, told the AFP news agency there was hope that Charles will bring "a national apology."

"Once we have the goodwill from the U.K. government, everything else will be OK," she said.

While Charles will be reflecting on that history, there is also the sense that the visit is in ways looking ahead, and continuing a post-Brexit trend in British foreign policy that seemed to emerge with his recent visits to Germany and France: putting forward a view of the U.K. as a country that may have left the European Union, but has not left Europe, and continues to try to reinforce its place on the world stage.

"The U.K. must maintain its presence in Africa … in broad terms," said Prescott. "It's the 60th anniversary of Kenya having independence from the U.K., and so to tie it in with an anniversary makes sense."

Prescott sees another potential British foreign policy concern the visit could address: countering worry that Chinese investment in Africa may be a way of China extending its influence into the region.

• Royal Fascinator Royal diplomacy hits the world stage on 2 fronts — Charles in France and William in New York

"So [the visit] ties in with the U.K. and other countries from the West maintaining their presence in Africa and maybe deepening it."

Beyond foreign policy implications, the visit could have personal resonance for Charles. He's been to Kenya four times, and it's the country where in 1952 his mother, then Princess Elizabeth, learned her father had died and she had become Queen.

"There is a symbolic significance to Charles III visiting Kenya for his first Commonwealth tour as King, honouring the late Queen's life and legacy," said Harris.

Elizabeth learned she had become Queen at the Treetops hotel , and media reports since Charles's visit was announced have been quick to point out Charles won't be going there this time.

Prescott thinks it's interesting that planners for this visit "resisted the temptation" for Charles to visit Treetops.

"I think that shows that there's a focus on trying to use these state visits for more substantive purposes."

Prescott said he thinks they "have to be careful to avoid just constantly being in the shadows or the footsteps of Elizabeth II."

"Whilst it might have been a nice thing to go [to Treetops], the purpose of state visits is always a little bit looking backwards, but also looking forwards, and it is about getting that balance right."

Sophie's fight for sight

Speaking of royal trips to Africa, another member of the family was on the continent recently, continuing her longstanding work on issues she has focused on for several years.

In a considerably lower-profile visit than what will unfold when Charles is in Kenya, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, went to Ethiopia.

Sophie has "travelled extensively in support of global health charities and women's welfare, previously visiting Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Harris said.

This time, Sophie was doing the same thing, marking World Sight Day and focusing particularly on efforts to address avoidable blindness. 

Sophie serves as global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and met with health workers screening people and treating them for blinding trachoma. 

"So much has been achieved both here in Ethiopia and around the world," Sophie said in a post on the Royal Family's website . "But now is the time that we must all redouble our efforts if we are to achieve our aim of eliminating trachoma by the year 2030, which is a mere six years away."

Sophie's efforts on this issue are an "example of precisely the sort of work that the Royal Family can do, in that it is a totally uncontroversial issue," said Prescott.

"Combatting blindness is undoubtedly a good, but it is perhaps unheralded and not something that maybe many people have thought about in the same way as access to clean water has been, or education for girls in some countries."

Sophie has also had a longstanding interest in supporting women affected by conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence. In the Tigray region, she observed the work UNICEF is doing in connection with that.

The Ethiopian trip was much in keeping with the pattern of other visits made by Sophie and her husband, Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, particularly during their time as Earl and Countess of Wessex.

Both independently and together, they have made frequent visits throughout the Commonwealth in support of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and health charities.

"These visits are comparatively low-profile in the media but very meaningful to the people who have their efforts and concerns acknowledged by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh," said Harris. She noted a visit by Edward earlier this year to Toronto, where he presented Duke of Edinburgh awards and met members of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. 

Sophie became Duchess of Edinburgh in March, when Edward was granted the title Duke of Edinburgh, which had been held by his late father, Prince Philip.

Before the new title, however, there had long been the sense that Sophie's profile and standing were on the rise. 

She's now seen "as a senior member and very solid member of the Royal Family," Prescott said. 

• Royal Fascinator Why the profile of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, could be on the rise

Along with Edward, Prescott said, in some ways the position they now hold has "opened up for them with the departure of other members."

Prescott sees Sophie's longstanding work on issues such as blindness contributing to her stature now.  

"I think just that plugging away over time actually does filter through and in a sense … your position and status grows around you."

The Crown comes back — one last time

Netflix shared a few hints the other day of what's in store for viewers ahead of the launch of the sixth and final season of The Crown .

The series that has offered a fictionalized version of real-life events that unfolded in the House of Windsor during the reign of Queen Elizabeth will focus this time on the late 1990s and early 2000s. 

The season will be split into two parts, Netflix said, with the first four episodes available to stream on Nov. 16. The second batch of episodes will drop on Dec. 14.

Photos from the new season released by Netflix show actors portraying Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, who both died after the car they were in crashed in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. 

Since its launch seven years ago, the series has sparked increasing controversy and set off debate about crossing the line between royal fact and fiction.

" The Crown on Netflix has become more controversial as it dramatizes events that are closer to the present day, especially the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales," said Harris.

"The more people … remember the actual events dramatized on screen, the more people … have strong opinions about how these events should be portrayed on screen or whether these events should be dramatized at all."

• Netflix adds disclaimer to The Crown trailer after Judi Dench criticizes TV series
• Royal Fascinator Mixing royal fact and fiction: Why the next season of The Crown is facing more controversy

In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in Diana in popular culture, and Harris says "audiences are interested in how her last months and death will be interpreted by the series."

For their part, producers of the series speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this year said they will handle the subject of Diana's death "sensitively," the BBC reported .

Other events expected to be part of the final season are Queen Elizabeth marking her Golden Jubilee in 2002; the courtship of the now Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine; and the 2005 marriage of the now King and Queen, Charles and Camilla.

Royally quotable

"Please stay safe. Look after each other. But ultimately thank you so much for the courage and determination you've all shown to get yourselves through the season." 

— Prince William, in a recent video call with firefighters from across Canada, in which he thanked them for their efforts following the worst wildfire season on record.

Royal reads 

King Charles made an impassioned plea for religious tolerance and mutual respect, against the background of "international turmoil" in Israel and Gaza. [BBC]

An entirely redesigned set of U.K. coins will enter circulation by the end of the year, marking the new reign of King Charles and celebrating his love of the natural world. [BBC]

Charles has named his " biggest regret" about his coronation weekend — and it had nothing to do with the ceremony. [The Express]

Catherine, Princess of Wales, has said she would "love to be a student again" after seeing how two universities work to support mental health. [ITV]

As David Sassoon looked back on his rise as a dress designer for clients,  including nearly every female British royal, he recalled his first Buckingham Palace fitting — a bridesmaid's dress for an eight-year-old Princess Anne — and how Diana wanted five maternity coats. [The Guardian]

Two collections of photographs, one newly updated, reveal how important society photographers such as Cecil Beaton were in establishing the royals as sacrosanct figures . [The Guardian]

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janet Davison is a CBC senior writer and editor based in Toronto.

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Cameron, on U.S. Trip, Takes a Risk and Meets With Trump

David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, said he spoke with Donald Trump, the former, and possibly future, president, about Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza conflict.

By Mark Landler

Reporting from London

When Britain’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, went to Washington on Tuesday, he made all the usual stops, from the State Department to Capitol Hill. But it was his pilgrimage to Palm Beach, Fla., where he met former President Donald J. Trump for dinner on Monday evening at Mar-a-Lago, that grabbed most of the attention.

Mr. Cameron is the first top British government official to meet with Mr. Trump since he left the White House. His visit — ostensibly to cajole Mr. Trump into backing additional American military aid to Ukraine — attests to Mr. Trump’s influence over a far-right faction of House Republicans who have been holding up a vote.

It also underscores how the electoral calendar is affecting political dynamics on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Cameron, a onetime prime minister, has emerged as almost a shadow British leader abroad, standing in for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is busy with a looming general election at home.

In traveling to meet Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mr. Cameron was reaching out to a once, and potentially future, American president — one whose jaundiced views on Ukraine are seen as the biggest hurdle to the continuation of much-needed American aid for the Ukrainian military.

“We had a good meeting,” Mr. Cameron said of Mr. Trump, while standing alongside Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken after their own session at the State Department on Tuesday. “It was a private meeting.”

Mr. Cameron said he and Mr. Trump discussed Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict and other geopolitical issues, but he declined to say whether he had made any headway on convincing Mr. Trump to provide additional aid to Ukraine. He said he delivered the same message he gives to other American leaders: “The best thing we can do this year is to keep the Ukrainians in this fight.”

Mr. Trump has not commented on the dinner, which included Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Karen Pierce. His campaign issued a statement saying they discussed “the need for NATO countries to meet their defense spending requirements and ending the killing in Ukraine.” They also shared their “mutual admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth II.”

So far, Mr. Cameron’s lobbying campaign in Washington has been met with decidedly mixed results. While he said he looked forward to meetings with Republicans in the House and Senate on Tuesday and Wednesday, he was not scheduled to meet with Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who is the pivotal figure in scheduling a House vote on military aid to Ukraine.

The two men last met in December, when Mr. Cameron also saw Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Georgia Republican who stridently opposes further aid. Two months later, she lashed out at Mr. Cameron, saying he had accused Republicans of appeasing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

“David Cameron needs to worry about his own country,” Ms. Taylor Greene said, adding an epithet.

At his news conference with Mr. Blinken, Mr. Cameron acknowledged that he viewed his visits to Capitol Hill with “great trepidation,” noting that, “It’s not for foreign politicians to tell legislators in another country what to do.”

Mr. Cameron played down the Mar-a-Lago meeting, saying it was routine for senior British and American officials to meet opposition candidates. As prime minister, he noted, he met with the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, when he came to London on a fund-raising trip. Mr. Blinken met the Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, at a security conference in Munich.

Still, there is little routine about meeting a former president at the Palm Beach estate that served as his winter White House and is still his political bastion. Mr. Trump used Mar-a-Lago for summit meetings with foreign leaders like President Xi Jinping of China . More recently, he welcomed a like-minded leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary .

Among Republicans, a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago has at times been an exercise in political validation. Kevin McCarthy, the former House speaker, went there three weeks after the attack on the Capitol in January 2021, in a fruitless bid to win Mr. Trump’s favor. Allies like Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, and Kari Lake, the Arizona TV anchor-turned-politician, are regular visitors.

Diplomats in Britain said Mr. Cameron’s visit was a risk, but characteristic of how he has approached his job from the start. On issues from Ukraine to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, he has pushed the envelope in his public statements. With Britain’s Conservative government lagging Labour by double digits in the polls and facing voters in the fall, some said Mr. Cameron had little to lose.

“Flattering Trump about his importance and significance on this issue is an astute move on Cameron’s part,” said Simon Fraser, a former head of Britain’s Foreign Office. “Let’s see whether it delivers.”

Mr. Fraser predicted that Mr. Cameron’s visit would get a mixed reception in Britain: applauded by those who view it primarily through a foreign-policy lens; criticized by those, he said, “who can’t stand Trump.” But he said Mr. Cameron’s entree to Mr. Trump spoke to his network of global contacts, a legacy of his time as prime minister.

“He’s bringing more reach and energy and impact to British foreign policy,” Mr. Fraser said.

Leslie Vinjamuri, the director of the U.S. and Americas program at Chatham House, the British research institution, said, “It may not feel tasteful, but it’s shrewd, pragmatic politics of the kind Britain especially has historically been so good at, and probably of the kind that will work best with Trump.”

“There is a lot at stake in U.S. defense of Ukraine and Europe’s security,” she added, “and frankly, I think the effort to influence the U.S. may be wiser and more effective than the aspiration to Trump-proof Europe.”

Mr. Cameron has had a bumpy history with Mr. Trump. In 2016, as prime minister, he condemned Mr. Trump’s campaign proposal to place a temporary ban on allowing Muslims to enter the United States.

Asked in Parliament whether Mr. Trump should be banned from Britain, Mr. Cameron demurred but said, “His remarks are divisive, stupid and wrong, and I think if he came to visit our country, I think he’d unite us all against him.”

Even Mr. Cameron’s welcoming of Mr. Romney in 2012 had its awkward moments. Mr. Romney, who had organized the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, questioned whether London was ready to play host to the summer games, citing reports about security concerns.

“We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world,” Mr. Cameron shot back. “Of course, it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.”

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

An earlier version of this article misstated the year of the Winter Olympic Games that Mitt Romney had organized in Salt Lake City. It was the 2002 Games, not 1988.

How we handle corrections

Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The Times, covering the United Kingdom, as well as American foreign policy in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades. More about Mark Landler