Queen and Commonwealth: The 1957 Royal Visit to Virginia

State Documents

Various state agencies were charged with planning and coordinating the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Principal among these were the 350th Anniversary Commission, created by an act of the General Assembly on April 3, 1954, to develop and coordinate the Jamestown commemoration, and the governor’s office. Documents from these agencies reveal the remarkable complexity of organizing the queen’s visit and the attention to detail required to plan every aspect of hosting a queen, from promulgating elaborate rules for the press corps to ensuring the use of the correct forms of salutation. Click on the images below to see a sampling of these documents from the Library of Virginia's collections.

List of Members of the Queen’s Party

"List of Members of the Queen’s Party . . ." (page 1)

Typescript, ca. Sept. 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

 
List of Members of the Queen’s Party

"List of Members of the Queen’s Party . . ." (page 2)

Typescript, ca. Sept. 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

 
Department of State, Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief of Protocol

"Department of State, Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief of Protocol"

Typescript, ca. Sept. 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

This is the first of three pages of protocols and other rules of decorum and etiquette related to the royal visit.

 
Press Release regarding the Royal Visit

Press Release Regarding the Royal Visit

Typescript Press Release, October 14, 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

Festival organizers let the public know where the queen might be seen in her travels, and warned that "the public cannot see the queen on the Colonial Parkway."

 
Press Release regarding the Royal Visit (page 2)

Press Release Regarding the Royal Visit

Typescript Press Release, October 16, 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

Organizers publicized a flyover by Canadian and United States Air Force jets.

 
Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (page 1)

"Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . . ." (page 1)

Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

This program of events opens with a list of the queen's party, apparently annotated with gifts: scotch for the men and flowers for the women.

 
Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (page 2)

"Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . . ." (page 2)

Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

 
Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (page 3)

"Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . . ." (page 3)

Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

 
Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (page 4)

"Program for the Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . . ." (page 4)

Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Files
Library of Virginia

 
Typescript Letter, Sept. 24, 1957 (page 1)

Parke Rouse, Jr., Executive Director, Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, to Carter Lowance, Executive Secretary, Office of the Governor (page 1)

Typescript Letter, Sept. 24, 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869.
General Correspondence
Library of Virginia

Park Rouse reported to the governor’s executive secretary regarding an inquiry about the color of the dress the queen would wear on her visit: "The queen never gives this information out."

 
Typescript Letter, Sept. 24, 1957 (page 2)

Parke Rouse, Jr., Executive Director, Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, to Carter Lowance, Executive Secretary, Office of the Governor (page 2)

Typescript Letter, Sept. 24, 1957
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869.
General Correspondence
Library of Virginia

 
List of "principal persons . . . in the immediate entourage of the royal party and whose names do not appear on the official-party list."

List of "principal persons . . . in the immediate entourage of the royal party and whose names do not appear on the official-party list."

Press Release, undated
Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, Accession 25869,
General Correspondence
Library of Virginia

 
Governor Stanley’s Farewell Remarks to Queen Elizabeth II

Governor Stanley’s Farewell Remarks to Queen Elizabeth II

Manuscript Draft, undated
Governor Thomas B. Stanley’s Papers
General Correspondence, 1954–1958
Library of Virginia
Transcription

These undated remarks appear to be a farewell message to the queen for use at the conclusion of the 1957 visit.