WHEN PRINCESS ELIZABETH VISITED REGINA
Cadillac with glass roof gave huge crowds better view, Dale Edward Johnson writes.
It was 68 years ago this month that Queen Elizabeth visited Regina for the first time, when she was then Princess Elizabeth. Along with her husband, Prince Philip, they stopped in Regina as part of a six-week tour of Canada — and their limousine in Regina was a Cadillac convertible.
They arrived in Regina by train at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct.
17, 1951, at Union Station, now Casino Regina.
“First appearance of the princess and prince outside the depot touched off a wild outburst of cheering from more than 15,000 people gathered to extend first greetings to the royal visitors. Some rooftop observers judged the crowd to exceed 20,000 as it crushed about the depot entrance,” the Leader-post reported.
“Their noses took on a pink tinge and they shivered too,” the Leader-post also reported. “Elizabeth drew the collar of the Canadian mink coat Canada gave her for a wedding present, closely about her throat.”
The Big Three automakers supplied luxury convertibles and sedans — Lincolns, Chryslers and Cadillacs — across the country. Three Cadillac convertibles were used during the Canadian tour — and the royal couple rode in one of them in Regina.
One of these Cadillacs was sold at the Barrett-jackson auction in the U.S. in 2015 for $85,000.
The Cadillac that was used for the British Columbia part of the tour was recently purchased by Jim Carpenter of Peachland, B.C., who has restored it and displays it at car shows in that province.
It is not known what became of the third Cadillac convertible used on the tour.
The Leader-post reported in 1951, “the procession of cars drove up and the royal couple stepped into a dark blue Cadillac convertible, with a transparent plastic top — first used in Winnipeg — for protection against the cold winds. The Duke entered the car first then politely assisted the Princess in.”
The clear plastic top meant while the royal couple was protected from rain and snow, they could see the crowds, and the people could see them better than if they were in a closed limousine.
The plastic top was built by dehavilland Aircraft of Toronto, and an employee of the firm travelled with the royal tour, to ensure the top was properly attached to the Cadillac.
There was a 21-gun salute, and then the motorcade headed south on Rose Street. There were 14 cars, and the royal couple was in the third car.
The Regina transit system shut down most service from
9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. to ensure the streets would be clear for the royal motorcade.
The man behind the wheel of the Cadillac was L. Cpl. Jim Faulkner. He was their chauffeur for their 21-kilometre tour of Regina, and said, “It was like taking any young couple out for a Sunday afternoon drive.”
The prince and princess were driven along Rose Street and Eleventh Avenue to city hall (where the Alvin Hamilton Building is now located) for a reception with “85 or so civic officials, their wives and escorts.”
Then they got back in the Cadillac and were driven along Eleventh Avenue to Albert Street and they headed south to the legislature, where Premier Tommy Douglas welcomed them to Saskatchewan.
Then it was on to the Hotel Saskatchewan for a state luncheon with 155 invited guests that “included representatives of the clergy, judiciary, armed forces, government and a sprinkling of civic dignitaries and their wives.”
In the afternoon, they were on hand for the official opening of the new legion building downtown.
“Snow was falling gently when the Princess and Prince alighted from their Cadillac convertible in front of the new Legion building on Cornwall Street .... For an entire block — from Eleventh to Twelve Avenue — people stood as much as 15 deep in hope of seeing Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. When the couple paused momentarily at the top of the steps leading into the Legion building and waved to the throng, cheers were deafening.”
It was still snowing as they left the legion, and Prince Philip remarked to the driver that it was getting harder to see through the transparent top.
“What we need is wipers on the top and sides and well as on the windshield,” he said to L. Cpl. Faulkner.
Just after 3 p.m. they arrived at Exhibition Stadium to greet schoolchildren from across the southern part of the province.
Then after a brief stop at a veterans’ home, the prince and princess went to the RCMP barracks for a tour and afternoon tea with about 80 guests.
“For most of the 13-mile ride, the radio was on the car at royal request and when the announcer began describing the embarrassment of a motorcycle policeman whose bike refused to start, the Duke leaned forward and said, ‘That’s nothing — we had one catch fire in Winnipeg yesterday,’ ” the Leader-post reported.
Then the royal couple got back in the Cadillac and returned to Union Station to board the royal train and head west.
“When they left the car at the station, they both thanked me graciously and said goodbye,” Faulkner said.
Just four months after the Canadian tour ended, King George VI died and his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth.
As queen, she visited Regina several more times and rode in newer Cadillacs.
Dale Edward Johnson is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada.
Snow was falling gently when the Princess and Prince alighted from their Cadillac convertible.