I was 13 years old when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the Cayman Islands on 16 Feb. 1983.
The reigning monarch and her husband were only stopping here for 24 hours, yet months went into the preparations for their visit. Streets and buildings got facelifts, and the schedule for the tour was planned down to the minute. They were to stay overnight at what was then called Transnational House, now Grand Pavilion, on West Bay Road.
As a student at the Cayman Islands High School (now the CIFEC location) and a member of the school choir, I was one of the lucky people to be part of the official proceedings. The Queen would be officially opening The Pines Retirement Home and we were performing for the occasion.
I don’t remember what we sang, but I recall being nervous and excited about the event and meeting Her Majesty. When she finally arrived, everyone was abuzz. She met various members of staff at the home and stopped to chat with a number of people. It was a bit surreal, particularly for someone of my age who had grown up in Cayman. This was the first time we had ever seen the Queen in person.
There is video somewhere of that visit. I’m at the end of a choir row, the one with the hunched shoulders, which made my mother despair. She was always asking me to put my shoulders back, and now my slouch had been captured for all the world to see.
Prince Philip remembered
It was a short visit for the royal couple, but they packed a lot in. I remember them going through town in their chauffeured car, with the islanders coming out in droves to wave to them. A few women had rollers in their hair, which made me wonder what important occasion they could possibly have later that day when here were the Queen and Prince Philip!
There was a banner at the entrance to one of the districts – Savannah or Bodden Town, I believe – that said, “God bless the Queen and the Duke too.” No question that Caymanians loved them and were thrilled to have them here, no matter how brief the stop.
They returned to Cayman in 1994, which is not as clear a memory for me. I think the first visit made a greater impact because of my age and the fact that it was so historic.
Whatever the reason, I’ll never forget it.
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