As many continue to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, some Okanagan residents may turn to the year 1959 to reminisce about her first visit to the Okanagan.
It was during that year the queen and Prince Philip visited Vernon, B.C., during her 45-day Canadian tour. The royal couple drew more than 15,000 people to the city that was populated with just 10,000 people at the time.
“For anybody who was here in 1959 when she visited very briefly our little city, it would’ve been a very significant event to have somebody of her stature,” said Vernon videographer and historian, Francois Arseneault.
“Our queen to come and see this little town, it would’ve been quite a remarkable event. We don’t see that every day.”
A local newspaper praised the queen’s visit just days later: “Queen Elizabeth, captivating absolutely beautiful, her escort Prince Philip, tall, strikingly handsome — two people who have carved a notch for eternity in the heart of Vernon.. together they captured a city.”
“People came from all across the province, Canada, and even the United States to see her,” said Laisha Rosnau of the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives.
One of the stops the royal couple made on their tour in Vernon was in Polson Park where they met with children and members of the public and took a stroll with the mayor.
“She went to Polson Park and greeted First World War veterans as well as children and all sorts of ordinary people. It was something she was well known for and something she very much enjoyed doing,” said Arseneault.
From there, the two made their way to the Vernon Cadet Camp, where the queen left behind a gift.
“The significant thing that she left behind is a gift to the Vernon Military Camp … a portrait of herself and his royal highness Philip,” said Arseneault.
“This is quite a significant piece it still sits in our cadet camp.”
The royal couple stayed in Vernon that day for just over an hour until making their way over to Kamloops before heading to a three-day retreat at Pennask Lake Lodge.