It was on this day in 1991 that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip made a whirlwind visit to the Alamo City.
At 10:40am on May 21st, the British Royal couple descended the stairs from their Aerospace jet at Kelly Air Force Base to begin their 1 hour 45 minute tour of San Antonio.
Photo: Courtesy jbsa.mil
After the United States Air Force Band of the West performed “March Bravura” on the tarmac, the 11 vehicle Royal motorcade hit the road…first stop…the Alamo.
There they were welcomed by representatives of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and then local historian Henry Guerra delivered a 5 minute history lesson about the Alamo, where he shared with the Queen that there were 12 Englishmen among the 189 Alamo defenders. He revealed that there were also 12 from Ireland, 4 from Scotland and 1 from Wales. She took an interest in Jim Bowie’s knife and a model of the Alamo as it was in 1836. Meanwhile, it was reported that Prince Philip really took an interest and peppered Alamo officials with his own questions.
Photo: Courtesy twitter .com
Stepping outside, Queen Elizabeth was presented with gifts and posies of flowers, heard tunes played by the Winston Churchill High School Band, and was cheered by the estimated crowd of 4,000 people, many of whom had been waiting there for several hours to catch a glimpse of the Royal couple.
Photo: Courtesy Alamo Facebook page
It was then back to the vehicles for the short journey to the San Antonio Riverwalk. As the couple descended the steps to the river from the Presa Street bridge, another large crowd welcomed them outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Hours before their arrival, a team of 9 Navy SEALs had methodically scoured the bottom of the San Antonio river, searching for “anything that might be hazardous to the Queen”
The procession of 3 barges slowly made their way along the Riverwalk. Seated next to the Queen was Mayor Lila Cockrill who pointed out landmarks along the way…including the specially-planted tree ( see details below )
Thousands of spectators lined the river, waving flags and trying to get that precious photo of the event, and along the way, the Queen and Prince Philip were entertained by mariachi bands, barbershop quartets, and dancers at various locations along the banks of the Riverwalk.
Photo : Courtesy southernliving.com
Eventually arriving at the Arneson River Theater after the 15 minute cruise, the Royal couple first listened to Rosita Fernandez sing “San Antonio” before they made their way through the invited crowd, to be whisked by a VIA Metropolitan trolley to a short reception at the Institute of Texan Cultures. There, they enjoyed a 25 minute tour of the displays in the Institute.
Here, their whistle-stop tour of San Antonio had reached it’s end, and the Royal couple headed back to Kelly Air Force base for the short flight to Dallas….all part of their 2 1/2 day Texan tour.
More stories from the Royal stopover in San Antonio:
* While viewing the Mexican jacal kitchen at the Institute, The Queen was overheard telling the Prince that she would like to learn how to make tortillas.
* Also while she was at the Institute of Texan Cultures, the Queen accepted, and enjoyed a refreshing gin and tonic…on the rocks.
* Following the visit, the Institute of Texan Cultures received a signed and framed photo from the Queen’s staff in recognition of their hospitality during the Royal visit.
Photo: Courtesy Institute of Texan Cultures
* To commemorate the Queen’s visit, a Cypress tree was planted on the Riverwalk. The tree, unofficially known as “The Queen Elizabeth Cypress” can be found next to The Original Mexican Restaurant in “River Square”
Photo: Author
Sources:
San Antonio Express News
Houston Chronicle
AP news
washingtonpost.com
Recollections of Bob Buchanan
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