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| Rear Admiral Boon officially receives Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. |
While Queen Elizabeth II never visited the Naval Academy, her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother paid the midshipmen a formal visit on November 8, 1954. As the Queen Mother’s motorcade entered gate 1 and rounded Porter Road onto Buchanan Road at 2:45 p.m., the Brigade of Midshipmen, dressed in full special dress, marched off from Bancroft Hall. Superintendent Walter F. Boone formally greeted Her Majesty as she stepped from her motorcade’s leading automobile in front of the Naval Academy Chapel. The Queen Mother’s retinue included British Ambassador Roger Makins and Theodore McKeldin, the governor of Maryland. On the chapel steps, the Naval Academy Band played a musical salute followed by "God Save the Queen."
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| Rear Admiral Boon escorts the Queen Mother from the Naval Academy Chapel. |
At 3:15 p.m., the Queen Mother's party arrived at Worden Field to witness the midshipmen conduct a pass-and-review parade. As the Queen Mother trooped the line, the band played various songs, including the marches "Colonel Bogey" and "Imperial Edward." While the midshipmen conducted the pass and review, the band played "Anchors’ Aweigh" and the English patriotic tune "There’ll Always be an England." Following the parade, the Queen Mother gave a speech to the assembled midshipmen:
Gentlemen of the brigade of midshipmen, I come as you know, from a maritime country. No inhabitant of the British Isles lives as much as a hundred miles from salt water, and the sea is in our blood. There is also, as perhaps you may not know, a very special and intimate relationship between the Royal Navy and the Crown. My daughter, the Queen, comes from a long line of sailors. Her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was himself trained in the discipline and the traditions of a naval officer. They would feel as much at home in Annapolis as you have made me feel today; and I bring you their greetings along with my own. One does not have to forget Nelson and Collingwood, Anson and Fisher, Beatty and Cunningham, to remember Paul Jones and Farragut and Dewey, Nimitz, Halsey and King. For many years now, the White Ensign and the Stars and Stripes have flown side by side. On patrol and in battle, in defense or attack, the United States and the Royal Navy have together kept the seven seas against any and every enemy. They share the same traditions of seamanship, of endurance and of valor. And I know that you will be true to those traditions.
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| The Brigade of Midshipmen conducts a pass and review in honor of the Queen Mother. |
Sources
References Alexander Cecil Morris, Memoranda, “Marches to Be Played at Dress Parade,” November 8, 1954, Folder 10, Box 1, Subseries 10b: Distinguished Visitors, Series 10: Special Occasions, Entry 39b: General Correspondence, 1845-1989. RG 405.
Memoranda, “Information for all guests,” November 8, 1954,” Folder 10, Box 1, Subseries 10b: Distinguished Visitors, Series 10: Special Occasions, Entry 39b: General Correspondence, 1845-1989. RG 405.
Memoranda, “Queen Mother’s Remarks,” November 8, 1954, Folder 10, Box 1, Subseries 10b: Distinguished Visitors, Series 10: Special Occasions, Entry 39b: General Correspondence, 1845-1989. RG 405.
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