Plans for a Victoria visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have brought back memories of other Royal Visits.
Former television news anchor Hudson Mack was the host at the welcoming luncheon for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, at the Fairmont Empress, as they embarked on her 2002 Golden Jubilee Canadian visit.
This is an excerpt from his book, Unsinkable Anchor.
Protocol dictates that one does not reveal the details of a conversation with the Queen. I would never — not that I could.
As we were introduced, I was agog. We chatted briefly, but it was all lips moving and no sound registering in my ears. I can recall her voice and her genuine interest in our conversation, but for the life of me, I cannot remember a word she said.
Maybe some day I will get hypnotized to see if I can pull it out of the recesses of my subconscious. I know it is in there somewhere. It was a thrill.
There would be a wait of several minutes while the VIP introductions concluded. I was cued to take to the stage to begin the program. I summoned the room to its feet.
Moments later, the two double doors at the far end of the Crystal Ballroom swung open. And there stood the Queen, awaiting my cue to enter the room. As she stood in the doorway, our gaze locked and time literally stood still.
The Queen was waiting for me to tell her to enter. I get goosebumps thinking about it. What was a matter of a few seconds felt like an eternity, and in that moment I knew somehow to savour it.
While lunch was underway, the throngs outside had swelled. The streets around the hotel and legislature were cordoned off with crowd-fencing to keep the roadway clear and to keep the tens of thousands of people on the lawns of the Empress and the legislative precinct.
Also on the lawn, surrounded by the crowd, were the various live broadcast positions providing coverage of the event. My instructions were to make our way to the tent housing Global News at the far end of the lawn for a live, breathless report on the luncheon: What we ate, what she wore, what was said, who committed a gaffe.
But as my wife Patty and I emerged from the hotel, we knew getting there was going to be difficult.
As we began walking up the centre sidewalk, the crowd along the east side noticed there was movement in the VIP area — us! There was a murmur at first, and then someone recognized me, and there was a shout that led to a cheer — not for me and Patty, of course — the crowd thought it was the royal couple.
Soon a roar spread through the mob — before people finally realized this couple was not that couple.
We made our way past the fountain, then near the front steps, just as the Queen’s entourage emerged. We were stuck inside the fence-line, with no way out and no time to find a way. At the front, we were near the fenced-off media pen, overflowing with local reporters and camera people, and the aggressive British media accustomed to carrying stepladders and wielding sharp elbows to get the shot.
The reporters in the pen were incredulous to see Patty and me inside the fence-line. But there was no time to escape. The Queen and Prince Philip were now just steps away. Patty and I realized we were trapped — and worse, we were blocking an area where Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and other lucky youngsters, were gathered behind the fence to present their bouquets and posies.
We had no option but to crouch in front of the line. As we squatted along the fence, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh greeted the children and accepted their welcoming gifts.
Patty could not move. She thought Prince Philip was going to offer a hand a lift her to her feet, like Prince Charming. Instead, he muttered some kind of quip and stepped over her lap and around her, as she knelt to get out of the way.
She was crouched facing out, and he was facing in, with her head at crotch level. I wish we had a picture. Though it was unintended, I’m sure, his trousers could not have come closer had he tried.
The Philip gaffe-watch was already underway, after he had once quipped on a Canadian visit, “If they serve me salmon once more, I shall surely start swimming upstream,” or words to that effect.
The Queen was nonplussed as always, ever the pro. I don’t know if the close encounter had the same lasting impression on the royal couple as it did on Patty or me.
I sincerely doubt it. I do not remember what she said to me or what he said to her. But I will never forget the day the Queen and I locked eyes — and her husband went nearly crotch-to-face with my wife.
Hudson Mack: Unsinkable Anchor is available from Harbour Publishing.
