The 1953 ROYAL VISIT TO FIJI?
In 1953, a young newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II undertook a tour of the British Empire, including Fiji, accompanied by the late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince Philip passed away peacefully at the age of 99, at the Buckingham Palace on April 9, 2021. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Fiji on a two-day visit as part of their six-month Commonwealth Tour in 1953. The Royal Tour in Fiji lasted from December 17-19, 1953.
She arrived with the Duke of Edinburgh in the Royal Yacht Britannia on December 17, 1953.
After receiving local chiefs aboard and the then Governor Sir Ronald Garvey at the Suva Wharf, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a traditional welcoming ceremony at Albert Park, Suva.
The Royal couple attended a royal banquet held in their honour at the Grand Pacific Hotel, and the famous shot of them waving from the balcony of the grand old lady was taken.
On the second day of the tour, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a service at the Anglican Cathedral in Suva and visited the Adi Cakobau School before flying to Lautoka.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh flew from Lautoka to Suva in an hour on a flying boat, Aotearoa, belonging to the Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), the descendant of which is Air New Zealand.
In Lautoka, 20,000 excited locals acclaimed the Royal couple. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, were taken around a sports field at the Churchill Park in an open-car to a sports meeting. 8,000 people at the park cheered with their mini Union Jack flags as the car was driven around the tracks. On leaving Lautoka, the Queen said she had a “a lovely day” and observers said she looked much refreshed after visiting Lautoka while the Duke was a little sunburnt from the Western heat.
They left Fiji for Tonga on Aotearoa, where they were guests of Queen Salote.
The Queen and the late Prince Philip visited Fiji again, a decade later, in 1963.