did queen elizabeth visit kentucky

Tracing Queen Elizabeth’s steps through the U.S.

By Danielle Paquette | Sep 10, 2022

During her seven-decade reign, Queen Elizabeth II visited more than two dozen cities across the United States. She chatted with Girl Scouts, football players, presidents and Frank Sinatra . She cheered on race horses in Kentucky. She requested a ham sandwich with the crust removed in Texas. She sported a tweed skirt-suit in Yosemite National Park.

Wherever England’s longest-serving monarch went, photographers followed, capturing generations of Americans in the throes of Royal fever (and more than a few signature handbags ).

Oct. 17, 1957 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II heads to the White House as crowd's line Washington streets to see the royal monarch.

Oct. 18, 1957 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II accepts a doll for Princess Anne from 7-year-old Pamela Springmann during a visit at Children's Hospital.

Queen Elizabeth II and Vice President Richard Nixon tilt their heads for a better view of the oil paintings on the interior of the Capitol dome during a tour.

Oct. 19, 1957 | College Park, Md.

Co-captains of North Carolina and Maryland meet Queen Elizabeth II before the start of a game.

Oct. 21, 1957 | New York

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a mink stole, and Prince Philip, standing next to a viewing telescope, view New York City from the observatory roof of the Empire State Building. The Queen said, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Queen Elizabeth II, in a plastic domed car, rides up lower Broadway through a shower of ticker tape and confetti during procession to City Hall.

Queen Elizabeth II addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

Her Majesty kicked off a seven-city tour of the nation’s east in 1976 with a stop in Philadelphia, where she unveiled a gift for the City of Brotherly Love: a Bicentennial Bell to celebrate 200 years of American independence from English rule. (The bell remains in storage .)

July 7, 1976 | Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip walk down the ramp of their aircraft near Washington.

July 7, 1976 | Philadelphia

Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by the Girl Scouts of America.

July 8, 1976 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II arrives at the U.S. Capitol.

On her New York leg, Elizabeth was spotted squeezing through city throngs, underscoring the lighter security protocols of yesteryear.

July 10, 1976 | New York

Thousands surround Queen Elizabeth II as she walks from the Federal Building up Wall Street to Trinity Church with Mayor Abraham Beame.

J Walter Green

July 10, 1976 | Charlottesville, Va.

Queen Elizabeth II tours Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home.

July 11, 1976 | Boston

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to spectators below from the balcony of the Old State House before the Queen descended to street level to address the crowd. The location is the site of the Boston massacre, an event which led to the Revolutionary War.

Elizabeth returned in 1983 for a trek through the West Coast. She visited a Southern California retirement home, led a champagne toast with then-president Ronald Reagan and absorbed the mountain views at Yosemite National Park.

Feb. 26, 1983 | San Diego

Queen Elizabeth II reviews the U.S. Marine Corps honor guard as she arrives for a State visit.

Feb. 28, 1983 | Sierra Madre

Queen Elizabeth II shares a smile with 97-year-old Sibyl Jones-Bateman after the monarch was presented with a bouquet during tour of the British Home retirement community near Los Angeles.

March 3, 1983 | San Francisco

President Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II raise their glasses in a toast during a state dinner at the M. H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.

Ed Reinke/AP

March 5, 1983 | Yosemite, Calif.

Park superintendent Bob Binnewies points out highlights from Inspiration Point to Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Yosemite National Park.

The queen, a horse racing enthusiast, landed in Kentucky five times between 1984 and 2007, according to the Courier-Journal . She was known to turn up at horse farms, admiring the mares and foals.

May 23, 1986 | Versailles, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II puts out her hand to her filly foal by the mare Christchurch and Alydar during a visit to Lane's End Farm.

May 27, 1986 | Lexington, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II exchanges pleasantries with a line of Fayette County (Ky.) and Kentucky State Troopers on the tarmac as prepares to depart following a five-day visit.

Amy Sancetta/Associated Press

May 26, 1989 | Lexington, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II is welcomed by a child upon her arrival during a private visit to the U.S.

David Banks

During her 1991 visit, Elizabeth addressed Congress. Lawmakers gave the monarch a standing ovation, while opponents of British occupation in Northern Ireland protested outside the Capitol.

May 14, 1991 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II and President George H.W. Bush review the troops after the Queen's arrival at the White House.

May 15, 1991 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II holds flowers presented to her at Drake Place, a housing project.

May 16, 1991 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II is applauded by Vice President Dan Quayle and House Speaker Thomas Foley before her address to the U.S. Congress.

Doug Mills/AP

Elizabeth’s last U.S. state visit came in 2007, when she arrived for the 400th anniversary of England establishing its first permanent North American settlement in Jamestown, Va.

She dined with then-president George W. Bush, watched the Kentucky Derby through bulletproof glass and checked out Washington memorials.

May 4, 2007 | Lexington, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip look out of the window of an SUV as they leave the Bluegrass Airport after arriving.

Morry Gash/AP

May 5, 2007 | Louisville, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II chats with Prince Philip as Susan Lucci (black hat) looks on at the 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Rob Carr/AP

May 7, 2007, | Washington

President Bush smiles at Queen Elizabeth II before the start of a State Dinner at the White House.

Evan Vucci/AP

May 8, 2007 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Park Service Director Mary Bomar walk around the National World War II Memorial during a visit by the Queen and Duke.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

May 8, 2007 | Greenbelt, Md.

Queen Elizabeth II accepts flowers from children while walking during a visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Larry Downing

Elizabeth made her final stop on American soil in 2010 to address the United Nations General Assembly. “I believe I was last here in 1957,” she deadpanned to her New York audience.

July 6, 2010 | New York

Queen Elizabeth II leaves a wreath of flowers at the site of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack during her visit.

Lucas Jackson

Queen Elizabeth II speaks at the United Nations Headquarters.

Seth Wenig/AP

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Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch

The queen’s travels, in photos

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Photo editing and production by Natalia Jiménez

GALLERY: Look back at Queen's Elizabeth II visits to Kentucky

With the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death, here is a look back on some of her visits to Kentucky.

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As Queen Elizabeth II prepares to celebrate her 70th year on the throne on Sunday in her Platinum Jubilee, we look back on her majesty's visits to Kentucky over the years.

The queen first visited the Bluegrass State in 1984 and returned in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 2007. In her most recent visit, she attended the Kentucky Derby.

Kentuckians waited for hours for the chance to catch a glimpse at royalty during her several visits.

Why Kentucky, you might wonder? One of her favorite pastimes is horse breeding and horses, so Kentucky is a fitting destination.

Watch these videos from WLKY's archives about people's excitement — and disappointment — in those trying to see the queen.

She made her first visit to an American racetrack in 1984 in Lexington, Kentucky. WLKY reported at the time that people traveled as far away as New York City to see her.

"How much of the queen did you see?" a reporter asked one of the attendees.

"I saw her lovely hat," the woman said.

In 1986, the spotlight was on 7-year-old Tiffany Crawford when the queen returned for her second Kentucky visit. The little girl handed her majesty a bouquet of flowers and practiced her curtsy for the occasion.

During her 1991 visit, one man said he drove four hours just for the chance to get a glance.

"It'll be something to tell our grandchildren," he told WLKY at the time.

She spent four days on a Kentucky horse farm in 1991 during the unofficial portion of her U.S. visit.

She returned once more in 2007 to attend the Kentucky Derby.

Former Buckingham Palace Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter told WLKY that year that the queen, who was 81 years old at the time, still enjoyed riding horses from time to time.

"There are those... who would probably say that she likes animals a little more than she likes people," Arbiter told the TV station. "And I suppose it can be argued that the animals are always pleased to see you and they don't argue back."

The now 95-year-old monarch has been on the saddle as recently as last year, People reported .

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Remembering Queen Elizabeth's 2007 Kentucky Derby Visit

A deep love for horses drew Queen Elizabeth II to Kentucky five times in her life.

With the 150th Kentucky Derby fast approaching, we're looking back on Queen Elizabeth II 's numerous visits to Kentucky—in particular, her 2007 visit to Louisville in which she experienced the "most exciting two minutes in sports."

The Louisville Courier Journal reports that Queen Elizabeth II's love for horses drew her to the Bluegrass State five times between 1984 and 2007. A lifelong equestrian, her final trip was to attend the 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip.

David Sweazy, vice president of operations for Churchill Downs in 2007, recalled the complex logistics of the prestigious visit to the Courier Journal . He revealed that bullet proof glass was even installed on the balcony of the Fourth Floor Stakes Room to protect the Queen when she stepped out.

"We've hosted presidents, dignitaries, and all sorts of celebrities but the Queen's visit required the highest level of involvement from a planning and security standpoint," Sweazy told the newspaper. "Leading up to her arrival, we met for months and had 32 meetings with the British Secret Service, United States Secret Service, and local and state law enforcement. On some days, we met multiple times to go over every detail of the Queen's visit."

In a tweet following the news of her death, Kentucky Derby called the visit "one of our most cherished #KyDerby memories."

Queen Elizabeth started horseback riding when she was just three years old. She even once described it as allowing her to be "just another human being." The monarch was also a savvy racehorse owner, netting more than 451 total wins and more than $9 million in prize money over the years.

 Britain's longest reigning monarch died September 8, 2022 at the age of 96.

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Hermitage Farm reflects on Queen Elizabeth II visit in 1986

GOSHEN, Ky. — The 10 days of national mourning are ending as the Queen Elizabeth II funeral, now declared a public holiday across the United Kingdom, will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. 

What You Need To Know

Queen elizabeth ii's funeral is scheduled for monday, september 19 the queen visited hermitage farm in goshen, ky. queen elizabeth ii visited kentucky five times before her passing at 96.

As they lay the queen to rest, many throughout the world continue to pay tribute to her memory, including one Kentucky farm she visited in 1986.

Hermitage Farm , the world class equine operation in Oldham County, has produced a lasting legacy.

“Hermitage Farm is very unique in that we are outside of the traditional bluegrass which is around the Lexington area,” Bill Landes, general manager of Hermitage Farm, said.

It’s safe to say the farm has had a fair amount of success.

“We’ve bred a Kentucky Derby winner, we’ve bred a Kentucky Oaks winner, we’ve bred a Breeder’s Cup winner, we’ve bred two champions in America, we have stood the leading stallion in America,” Landes said.

It’s that kind of success that even attracted Queen Elizabeth II. The queen visited Goshen in 1986 where Landes and the entire Hermitage Farm crew hosted a yearling show in her honor.

“I’ll never forget her bending down and picking up a horse’s hoof with Mr. Jones to see how this horse was shod and exactly what we were doing and that spoke to me at that time,” Landes said.

Her fascination with horses led the queen to Kentucky five times before her passing at 96.

On her trips to the bluegrass, Queen Elizabeth also visited Churchill Downs and Keeneland.

“Well, it was just our honor to do that because, other than Churchill Downs,  Hermitage Farm  was the only other Louisville area visit that she made, so that’s quite an honor,” Landes said.

That visit that will last a lifetime for Landes. Landes had the honor of shaking Queen Elizabeth’s hand during her time at the farm.

“It was never promised, I was told,” Landes. “If she desires to do it, she will reach out and extend her hand to you, which she did, and that was quite a thrill.”

Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest beside her husband, Philip, at King George VI Memorial Chapel. 

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Queen Elizabeth Visited Kentucky on Five Separate Occasions

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It's odd when someone whose name you've heard your entire life passes away. Of course, the "someone" in question is Queen Elizabeth II, who died Thursday at the age of 96.

While I feel certain the royal family would consider it crass to call her a global celebrity, that is exactly what she was...and one of the biggest and most easily recognizable. She reigned for 70 years, eclipsing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria by just shy of seven years as the longest-reigning British monarch.

As a child, I thought she was a homebody. I thought all monarchs were. I just figured they sat on their thrones and then went to bed at night. That's a kid for you. Obviously as I got older I realized there are many reasons for British monarchs to travel, and Queen Elizabeth was no exception.

And she loved coming to Kentucky. I can only assume that since she visited the Commonwealth on five occasions.

QUEEN ELIZABETH IN KENTUCKY -- 1984

During her first visit, in 1984 , Queen Elizabeth toured a number of Kentucky horse farms and attended the first running of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in Lexington where she presented a trophy to the owner of Sintra, the winning horse.

QUEEN ELIZABETH IN KENTUCKY -- 1986

In 1986, the queen paid what Associated Press reporter Mike Embry called a "low-key" visit to Kentucky. She would stay with close friends William S. Farish III and his wife Sarah at Lane's End Farm where she was keeping horses. She loved horses and she loved Kentucky. Here's how her visit began 36 years ago:

QUEEN ELIZABETH IN KENTUCKY -- 1989

You heard then-Governor Martha Layne Collins predict that Queen Elizabeth would return, and she was right. In 1989, the queen came back to Kentucky for what was dubbed a working holiday. As United Press International's Brian Malloy put it , she was "touring horse farms for potential bloodstock for her royal breeding operations."

QUEEN ELIZABETH IN KENTUCKY -- 1991

It would only be a couple of years before the queen returned to Kentucky in 1991, and this time, her stay in the Commonwealth was the finale of her tour of the U.S.  It was also a private visit, with very little opportunities for the public to see her that year.

After touring horse farms, Queen Elizabeth was once again a guest of her friends, the Farishes, before flying back to England.

QUEEN ELIZABETH IN KENTUCKY -- 2007

However, DESPITE her close friendship with the Farishes and her love of Kentucky, the queen waited another 16 years before returning. It would be her fifth and final visit to the Commonwealth. And though she DID love it here and was quite the equine aficionado, in 2007, she made her ONLY appearance at the Kentucky Derby.

With Queen Elizabeth's passing, all eyes turn toward Prince Charles who will now be known as King Charles III. But an official ceremony isn't likely to take place until sometime in 2023.

Queen Elizabeth II’s Life in Photos

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IMAGES: Queen Elizabeth II at the Kentucky Derby during her 2007 U.S. visit

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A Visit to Central Kentucky in ‘The Crown’: Fiction Meets Reality

In the fifth episode of season three of Netflix’s “The Crown,” Queen Elizabeth II travels to Kentucky and spends a month in the commonwealth looking for horses to breed with her mares, some of whom were stabled in Central Kentucky. In the episode, she spends her time in Kentucky lamenting “the unlived life” and the restrictions that accompany her station as a monarch.

Fans of “The Crown” love to parse through the show’s events and storylines to mine what is based on fact and what is based on fiction. This episode provided much fodder for those students of “The Crown’s” allegiance to history.

At this point in the show’s third season, it is supposed to be 1967. But Queen Elizabeth II didn’t set foot on Kentucky soil until 1984. And though she did spend time looking at stallions during that six-day trip, her real reason for the visit was to attend the inaugural running of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland Race Course .

Queen Elizabeth II had been to the United States six times prior to that visit in October 1984, but this was her first visit to Kentucky and her first to an American racetrack despite the fact that she was a lifelong fan of horse racing. She visited nearly a dozen horse farms during the visit and many of the farms reportedly offered to mate their star stallions with her mares free of charge.

The queen then attended a party at Lane’s End as a guest of William S. Farish III and Sarah Farish, and about 120 invited guests mostly from the Kentucky horse racing community. Will Farish had met the queen in 1974 through her son Prince Charles while playing polo in England, and they had remained friends, connected through their shared love of horses and racing. Sarah Farish, a du Pont heiress, said that “it was the most wonderful week either of us had ever had ... it was almost beyond words.”

In “The Crown,” the queen’s visit to Kentucky is cut short by word of a coup attempt back home, a story that does have some root in actual fact. While no actual coup attempt was in fact ever made, there were discussions of a coup among a group of wealthy industrialists, military generals, and Lord Mountbatten in 1968 about the possibility of pushing out the elected Labour government. Nothing much came of those talks, and certainly nothing rose to the level seen in “The Crown.”

However, during Queen Elizabeth II’s actual trip to America in 1984, her visit was cut short by an act of political terrorism back home. An IRA bomb in a Harrod’s department store in London killed nine people on her last day in the United States, sending her home to face a tragedy and political crisis. At the time of the bombing, she was no longer in Kentucky but had flown to Canyon Ranch in Montana to stay with her racing manager, Lord Porchester, whose wife was an American.

In addition to being the queen’s racing manager, Lord Porchester had been her friend since childhood. The two of them bonded over a shared love of horses, and Porchester served in the Royal Horse Guards during World War II.

From childhood until his death in 2001, the queen and Lord Porchester shared a uniquely close relationship. Some said he was the only person who could contact her at any time. Naturally, there were rumors about the nature of their relationship, and “The Crown” certainly stokes those fires in this episode. There is a strong insinuation that one of the reasons for the queen’s trip to Kentucky to check in on her horses is to spend time with Lord Porchester, with whom her husband suspects she is having an affair. This insinuation has enraged defenders of the royal family, who say there is no basis for it. And, they’re right — like a lot of “The Crown,” this episode and incident are a work of fiction. But it isn’t a totally imagined narrative. The writers took their inspiration from actual events and the rumors that surrounded them in order to come up with this particular fiction.

“The Crown” shows Queen Elizabeth II feeling conflicted about returning to England after her stay in Kentucky. After a day of riding horses alongside of Lord Porchester she tells him over dinner that “today has managed to be one of the most enjoyable days of my life, and at the same time one of the most depressing.” She then confesses to him, “this is how I’d like to spend all of my time. Owning horses, breeding horses, racing horses, that’s what makes me truly happy. And I actually think it was what I was born to do … until the other thing came along.”

Queen Elizabeth II continues to breed and race horses to this day. A sizeable chunk of her net worth has come from horse racing: she has earned nearly $10 million in the sport over the last 30 years. Her involvement in horse racing is well known and documented among American racing fans. In 2018, she sent one of her horses, Call to Mind , to Belmont Park where he won the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational Stakes . Queen Elizabeth II’s Magnetic Charm competed in October in the 2019 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Lane's End at Keeneland.

The queen has returned to Kentucky four times since that first trip in 1984. While much of “The Crown” is fiction, the notion that Queen Elizabeth II was truly happy racing horses seems to be undisputably true.

2019 Visit Horse Country: Lane's End, Part 1 from America's Best Racing on Vimeo .

2019 Visit Horse Country: Lane's End, Part 2 from America's Best Racing on Vimeo .

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QUEEN ELIZABETH VISITING KENTUCKY HORSE FARMS

• Oct. 8, 1984

Queen Elizabeth II, a top breeder of thoroughbred horses in Britain, began a private six-day visit today to some of America's noted stud farms.

The Queen was greeted in the rain at Blue Grass Airport by Gov. Martha Layne Collins, Mayor Scotty Baesler and Sarah and William S. Farish 3d, at whose farm the Queen is staying.

About 200 people lined a nearby fence to get a glimpse of the Queen's arrival at 4:40 P.M. Prince Philip, who had been with his wife on a tour of Canada, was bound for the Middle East.

Carrying her own umbrella, the Queen shook hands and exchanged greetings with the 10 people in the receiving line. 'Delighted' to Visit

''She said she was delighted to be here and she was aware that we needed this rain for our crops,'' said Mrs. Collins, who presented her with a leatherbound book about Kentucky. ''It didn't dampen her spirits at all. She was very gracious. She mentioned that she had been in the States before, and it had rained every day she was here.''

Mr. Baesler said the idea of greeting British royalty was always impressive. ''There's certainly an aura about it that's hard to describe,'' he said. ''You see a lot of your own history right there. A lot of U.S. history is tied up with her history.''

Despite the private nature of the visit, security arrangements are tight, the authorities say. Secret Service agents have been in the area for weeks and warn that reporters and sightseers will be arrested if they venture onto properties where the Queen is visiting or try to fly overhead. 'A Pretty Big Job'

''From what I've seen, it's every bit as big as what we do for the Vice President or the President or somebody like that,'' Capt. Larry Walsh of the Lexington police said. ''It's a pretty big job.''

The Queen, a leading owner of thoroughbreds and expert on blood lines, plans to spend her time touring leading Bluegrass horse farms. On Thursday she is to present a trophy to the winners of a race named for her.

The Queen, who is bringing only a small staff, will stay in a 19th-century country mansion at Lane's End Farm outside Versailles. A spokesman indicated that the Queen would go out only by day and attend none of the lavish parties common among Lexington horse farmers.

Nonetheless, her private visit touched off a flurry of weeding, planting, raking, sweeping and building. Even the airport runways were cleaned, and officials did their best to cover up the rubble from an expansion project still under way.

''We've been working with the embassy for six months,'' said James Brough, director of the airport. ''We've got everything worked out, and hopefully everything will go like clockwork. We just want to put our best foot forward, like everybody else.''

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65 years ago today, Queen Elizabeth and her royal yacht Britannia passed under the Mackinac Bridge

• Published: Jul. 05, 2024, 9:02 a.m.

The British royal yacht Britannia prepares to pass underneath the Mackinac Bridge on July 5, 1959. Photo courtesy of the Mackinac Bridge Authority.

• Tanda Gmiter | [email protected]

ST. IGNACE, MI - Sixty-five years ago today, royal fever gripped the Straits of Mackinac as Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, passed underneath Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge on July 5, 1959, aboard their yacht, the Britannia.

The British royals had embarked on a six-week tour the month before, destined for many stops in Canada and one in the U.S. A highlight was the 33-year-old queen’s ceremony with U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. It officially opened the St. Lawrence Seaway, a system of locks and canals which connects shipping channels in the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

The monarch’s 412-foot yacht motored up the Detroit River, then north up Lake Huron, passing under the Mackinac Bridge and heading down Lake Michigan before stopping for the couple’s first-ever visit to Chicago.

For security reasons, the Britannia’s passage under the Mackinac Bridge on a summer Sunday afternoon took a little planning, as traffic on the nearly 2-year-old bridge needed to be stopped.

These details were explained by Lawrence A. Rubin, former executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority as well as a key figure in the construction and financing of the landmark span, in his book “ Bridging the Straits: The Story of the Mighty Mac .”

The queen’s protection detail had visited the Mackinac Bridge Authority a few days before the yacht arrived in the Straits. They wanted all traffic stopped at the north and south towers during the time the Britannia passed underneath the middle of the main span of the 5-mile-long bridge. Rubin had suggested stricter guidelines, according to his book’s account:

“I was willing to oblige, but suggested we hold up traffic on both ends of the bridge rather than at the towers. That would not do, countered the Britishers. They did not want to inconvenience anyone more than absolutely necessary.”

The British royal yacht 'Britannia' preparing to pass underneath the Mackinac Bridge on July 5, 1959.

When the big day arrived, thousands of people had gathered in the Straits area to see the monarch’s yacht cruise by. According to accounts of the royal tour, the young queen had recently told just a handful of people that she was pregnant with her third child, who would arrive the next year as Prince Andrew.

Rubin’s account says a dense fog moved into the St. Ignace/Mackinaw City area, making it difficult for bridge staff to track the Britannia’s progress toward the Mighty Mac. When they finally spotted the yacht, it was just 500 yards east of the bridge. The signal was given and traffic was stopped.

What happened next was very un-British:

“I suppose that in England, proper Englishmen would remain in their cars, but this was America and hundreds of car occupants ditched their vehicles and ran out onto the center of the bridge, waving and shouting for a look at the British royalty, especially Prince Philip,” Rubin wrote. “It must be admitted with some measure of shame that some persons threw small items such as coins over the side and there were even a few who spat.”

The next day, on July 6, the Britannia and her royal entourage arrived in Chicago. The queen and her prince took a small boat to shore, where they were met by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and other dignitaries to start her historic 14-hour tour of the Windy City, according to the Chicago Tribune.

While there, she toured the Art Institute of Chicago, dined at the Chicago Hilton & Towers, and even ducked out of a reception a bit early to have an emergency filling placed in one of her back teeth,  according to a roundup of the day’s itinerary.

At the time of this trip, the royal yacht was just five years old. After traveling more than a million nautical miles, the floating palace was retired from royal service in 1997. It later became a tourist attraction in Edinburgh, Scotland.

To read more tidbits about the Mighty Mac’s history,  check here .

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