A few days ago, I woke up before the crack of dawn to watch the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022). My sleepy eyes were glued to the TV as I gawked at the amazing pageantry, meticulous precision of the soldiers, and large crowds of people — many of whom had camped on the London streets for multiple days to get a good view of the fantastic procession! At times, I felt tears in my eyes yet was immensely proud to be British. I could not believe the stoic woman who was the icon of Britain for over seven decades and a world leader I had looked up to was gone. Now, during this period of mourning, I reflect on the Queen’s enduring legacy around the world, including in Texas.
Texas has had a friendly relationship with the British Royal Family. In February 1986, Prince Charles, then Prince of Wales, visited the Lone Star State to kick off the Texas sesquicentennial festivities. Prince Charles embraced our state’s colossal culture by cutting into a 45-ton birthday cake with a Texas-sized sword! At the Texas Capitol, he was given a giant gavel by legislators. The huge judicial instrument was “extremely appropriate coming from Texas,” exclaimed Charles. The future king also toured San Antonio, yet was more interested discussing the scorching heat than the Alamo — “if it’s as hot as this in the winter, what is it like in the summer?"
Five years later in May 1991, Texas enthusiastically welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. As part of a two-week tour of the United States (that also included a state dinner with President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush), the royal couple visited Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. After landing at Bergstrom Air Force Base in the Texas Hill Country, a motorcade whisked the royals to the Capitol, where they were received by the second female governor in Texas history, Ann Richards, along with Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, Speaker of the House Gib Lewis, and Austin Mayor Lee Cooke. Cooke gave the Queen a key to the city. The Duke was given a tour of the Sematech headquarters in Austin, and the couple enjoyed a pleasant dinner and reception with Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady, that evening. Later, it was reported that over 8,000 Texans traveled to the Capitol to catch a glimpse of the Queen.
Next, the Queen and her entourage (which included a BBC crew as well as the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, secretary, and personal hairdresser) traveled to San Antonio, where a jam-packed itinerary included a tour of the River Walk shops as well as a splendid barge ride on the San Antonio River. In Houston, crowds flocked to see the Queen, who was treated to a visibly moving service at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and private tour of NASA. The final stop was Dallas… when the Queen arrived at Love Field Airport, she was greeted with a light-hearted tune from the folk song “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” The words of “God Save The Queen” were recited before the band played the British anthem so that the audience would not mistakenly sing “My Country Tis of Thee” to the familiar soundtrack. In the Big D, the Queen knighted Cecil Howard Green, the British-born founder of Texas Instruments and trustee of the University of Texas at Dallas. In concluding a well-received Texas tour, the Queen and her husband dined with Louise Caldwell, president of the Dallas Historical Society.
Despite the Queen only spending a couple of days in Texas, her sincere interest in Texas’ history and people was evident. On her last day in the Lone Star State, the Queen made remarks that every Texan would be pleased to hear: “No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty… Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born Texans.” Considering she traveled over one million miles to 117 countries; the Queen certainly knows what she was talking about!