Reflections on Queen Elizabeth’s visit to the TCI

Dana Malcolm

 Staff Writer

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was unmatched by any monarch in British history. As head of state for the United Kingdom and its territories, which includes the Turks and Caicos Islands, she served 70 years, longer than any other in her position.

As often pointed out by her current representative in the Turks and Caicos, Governor Nigel Dakin, “She became our Queen, while we in TCI were still a dependency of Jamaica.  It would take a further 10 years before John Glenn would splash down just off Grand Turk, following his three orbits of the earth, a further 21 years before TCI had its first Governor, and 24 years until JAGS McCartney won the 1976 election.”

She made her only official visit to the islands on Friday, February 25th, 1966, with her husband Prince Phillip.  Though her tour only lasted one day, she visited multiple islands, and managed to make such an impression on locals, that a yearly event is now dedicated to celebrating her visit, The South Caicos Regatta.

According to the TCI Museum, The Queen arrived in Grand Turk via her Royal Yacht Britannia, after an overnight journey from the British Virgin Islands.

After a state welcome, The Queen visited the then active American Missile Tracking Base and was informed of Grand Turks’ role in the ‘Space Race.’

She would visit South Caicos next, where she was greeted again and visited the plant of the Caicos Fisheries.  Queen Elizabeth saw the lobster catch brought in, which in videos of the event seemed to delight her, as she can be seen inspecting the live crustaceans only inches from her white shoes and asking questions of the islanders.  She also saw an exhibition of local Caicos crafts and was delighted by a donkey race.

Videos of the event show The Queen laughing heartily as she stands next to the donkey’s, speaking to the competitors after the race.

During her visit, she presented several of the local residents with honours for their public service, and the event was lovely enough, that it was recorded as one of the stamps issued in 1977 to mark The Queen’s Silver Jubilee.  Two months after the visit, Turks and Caicos Police Force gained the title “Royal” in recognition of their work during The Queen’s visit.

See video of The Queen’s visit provided by the British Film Institute here.