The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh completed their six-month Commonwealth Tour as they returned to London on this day in 1954, following Tours around the United Kingdom after the Queen’s Coronation. The Commonwealth Tour took them through Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Malta and a stop in Gibraltar.
Lady Pamela Mountbatten recalled:
Coming up to Tower Bridge, festooned with a “Welcome Home” sign, we held our breath as we passed underneath, for it seemed impossible that there would be room for Britannia’s masts. At lunch, with a twinkle in her eye, the queen resolutely remained in her slacks while she entertained the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, who were rather splendidly arrayed in silks and diamonds. After lunch the queen went below to her cabin to change. When she came back up on deck she was extra specially smart and appeared rather pleased with herself. She saw me looking and said quietly, “I kept these things aside so that I would have something new to wear for our arrival in London.”
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, along with Prince Charles and Princess Anne, disembarked the Royal Yacht Britannia at Westminster Pier, where they were greeted by members of the extended Royal Family; The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and the Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.
At Westminster Pier, we disembarked to a host of dignitaries, but there was no one more important to me in that crowd than my sister, who, touchingly, was there to welcome me home.
Prince Charles and Princess Anne joined the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for the Carriage Procession back to Buckingham Palace, as Lady Pamela Mountbatten remembered:
“Rather thrillingly, Alice, Michael, Martin, and I had to travel through the cheering crowds to the palace behind the state landau, in a carriage drawn by four bay horses. I was bursting with pleasure and excitement—for me that carriage drive made the relentless pace of the past six months worthwhile. We started out in solemn silence but were soon reduced to fits of giggles—as the men were sitting with their backs to the horses they had to rely on Alice and me to warn them whenever we were approaching colors so that they could swiftly doff their hats the moment we alerted them.”
At the Palace, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were joined by Prince Charles and Princess Anne, as well as the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret on the Palace Balcony, while Lady Pamela Mountbatten recalled:
“The Grand Hall of the palace was lined with gentlemen-at-arms and yeomen of the guard and more courtiers than I should have thought existed, and seeing tea laid out and watching everyone move about in that stiff Buckingham Palace sort of way, it was difficult to believe I had actually just traveled around the world. I took one look at the room buzzing around me and realized that with immediate effect I could lead a normal life again without having to attend an opening of Parliament every few days, or having to climb into a long evening dress, tiara, and gloves nearly every night. I felt an overwhelming urge to escape, so I located my luggage and fled.”
“As Sir Winston Churchill said good night to the Queen, she said, “I hope you sleep well.” He looked at her and replied, “Now we have got you home, ma’am, I shall sleep very well.”
