TIMELINE: PRINCE PHILIP AND QUEBEC
1951
Three months before being crowned queen, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip undertake a coast-to-coast tour of Canada. At Montreal's Dorval Airport, they are met with a 21-gun salute, Mayor Camillien Houde and “a crowd of 20,000 pressing tightly against the wire fence facing the plane.” Thousands line Montreal streets as the couple take in the city by car and visit the chalet atop Mount Royal. The couple leave by train for the Maritimes, but not before whistle stops in St-hyacinthe, Drummondville, Lévis, Rivièredu-loup, Rimouski and Mont-joli.
1954
The prince stops in Quebec City where he's met by a 100-man guard of the Royal 22nd Regiment, a 21gun salute and Premier Maurice Duplessis. “About 500 persons, many of them housewives and children, broke through the airport gate to get a close view of the Duke,” the Montreal Gazette reported.
1957
The royal couple drive through crowd-lined streets from Ottawa to Gatineau.
1959
Queen Elizabeth and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower officially open the St. Lawrence Seaway in a ceremony near the lock in St-lambert before a crowd of 20,000. The royal couple then board the Royal Yacht Britannia and set sail for Chicago.
1962
The prince gives a speech about industrialization at the Université de Montréal at which he describes Montreal as “the most eloquent example of the way people of two races, two languages and two religions can combine and co-operate to their mutual benefit in every activity of life.”
1964
Small crowds and separatist protesters greet the Queen and Prince Philip in Quebec City.
1967
In Canada to celebrate the country's centenary, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attend Expo 67, staying at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Their visit to Expo includes an unscheduled 50-minute ride around the grounds on the minirail with Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, reportedly because Prince Philip complained security was too extreme at ground level.
1969
On a solo 15-day, 11-city tour of Canada, he briefly visits Montreal, including a stop at Cartierville Airport where he presents awards to 13 members of the Canadair Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.
1976
Queen Elizabeth opens the Montreal Olympics. Security is so rigid the army refuses to allow a provincial police honour guard onto the St-hubert airport tarmac because the police officers don't have the necessary credentials. The royals stay on the Royal Yacht Britannia, moored in Montreal harbour.
1979
Prince Philip visits Montreal for an afternoon to promote an upcoming Commonwealth Study Conference, organized to “educate future leaders about the effects major decisions have on people's lives,” the Montreal Gazette reports. He attends a luncheon at the Mount Royal Club.
1987
The Queen and Prince Philip return to Quebec City. They visit the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the oldest Anglican cathedral outside the British Isles. And they are guests of honour at a state dinner in the National Assembly restaurant hosted by Premier Robert Bourassa, and at a banquet hosted by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at the Château Frontenac. The couple do not visit Montreal, but a small group of sovereignists hold a demonstration in Victoria Square, led by convicted FLQ terrorist Raymond Villeneuve. They shout “La reine aux anglais, le Québéc aux Québécois!”
1989
Prince Philip visits Quebec on a solo tour, visiting Sherbrooke, Lennoxville and Compton in the Eastern Townships, as well as HydroQuébec's research laboratory in Varennes.
1990
With a royal trip to Gatineau for Canada Day festivities in the works, Parti Québécois leader Jacques Parizeau, an anglophile despite his fervent nationalism, urges separatists not to demonstrate, admitting he has a “soft spot” for the Queen that “goes back a long way.” But nationalist protesters show up nonetheless, turning their backs on the Queen's motorcade as it drives by.
1992
The Queen is guest of honour at a Canada Day concert at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau to celebrate the country's 125th birthday. The Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir opens the show.
2002
Flag-waving nationalists protest as the royals arrive at a gala dinner at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.