The Royal Tour in 1971, with Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Phillip.
Image courtesy of the Maritime Museum of BC.

Apr 30, 2024

The Maritime Museum of BC is delighted that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne will make a very special visit to the Collection and Archives during a visit to Canada.

About the Visit
 
The Princess Royal, Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence will visit a number of organizations in Victoria, Esquimalt, and Saanich during their visit to Canada.
 
During the visit to the Maritime Museum of BC Her Royal Highness will meet the Museum’s Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers from all areas of Museum operations will discuss their ongoing projects and connect this Royal Visit to the coastal maritime life, work and experiences exemplified by objects and archives in the Collection.

Museum Connection to Prince Phillip
 
“During their 1951 visit to Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess) and Prince Phillip toured the navy base in Esquimalt–very fitting for Prince Phillip with his naval background. He inquired about a naval museum on this coast. When told there was none, he set about to change that,” said Brittany Vis, Executive Director of the Maritime Museum of BC, “When he got home to England he contacted the Greenwich Museum and asked them to send some objects to BC to start a new naval museum. These objects, along with objects from local individuals, started our organization as a naval museum on Signal Hill just outside the gates of the HMC Dockyard in Esquimalt.”  
 
During The Princess Royal’s visit, she will see the items from Greenwich, along with many others from the museum’s 45,000+ piece collection.
 
Eventually, the Museum outgrew that space and moved into the Bastion Square courthouse in 1965, and became the Maritime Museum of BC. It is now located downtown Victoria at 744 Douglas Street.

Event: The Princess Royal Visit to the Maritime Museum of BC Collection and Archives
Date: 4 May 2024