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This anonymous writer recalls a special day in 1939 when she watched the royal parade down Portage Avenue of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II's mother). This visit was a thrilling event to prepare for and attend for a young girl of s

I remember the royal visit to Edmonton in 1939. I was six years old. My parents bought tickets for the bleachers built on Portage Avenue, later named Kingsway in honor of the royal visit. Mom made me a brand new dress. It was white with tiny green raised spots and had a green velvet ribbon at the waist. She bought me black Mary Jane shoes and white socks with lace on them. I felt very specially dressed to see the King and Queen.


We owned a brown and gold Chevy, but dad said we would be taking the streetcar. There would be no room to park the car. When we dressed to go that day, I felt very fine in my new clothes. We all set out for the streetcar on Whyte Avenue. The streetcar trip would take over an hour. We crossed the fascinating High Level Bridge, where the streetcar drove on top.


When we arrived at Portage Avenue, instead of buildings as on Whyte Avenue, we saw open fields and miles and miles of bleachers, with thousands of people already sitting in them. We learned later there were 68,000 people and the bleachers covered five miles. The population of Edmonton at that time was 75,000. All the ladies wore hats and the men wore felt hats.


Mom and dad found our section from our tickets. My brother, who was four and wearing a new pinstriped cotton suit, and I, in my new clothes, followed them to our seats. We waited holding onto our Union Jack flags, our excitement increasing by the minute. Then we heard the sound of motorcycles and cheers coming closer. When they came into view we joined in the wild cheering.


The Queen was wearing a beautiful pink dress. The King looked handsome in his uniform. The car was a sparkling black. Walking beside it were scarlet-coated Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers. Motorcycles and a dozen more black cars completed the entourage.


When the parade was over, we walked to our streetcar and climbed on. It would be over an hour before we arrived home, but I was happy thinking about the King and Queen smiling and waving back at us from the shiny black limousine, the Union Jacks flying high, the scarlet-coated R.C.M. P. officers walking beside the car, and some riding the motorcycles. On the streetcar, I sat with my hands on my lap with visions of royalty in my mind, watching the tops of my Mary Jane Shoes swinging to the rhythm of the streetcar. On the walk home on Whyte Avenue my Dad bought us ice cream cones. The end to a perfect day.