Princess Elizabeth’s first visit to Kenya
She went up a tree as a princess and came down a queen.
Even before this visit, the colony was already fond of the princess. The first dual-carriageway in Nairobi was named Princess Elizabeth Highway (now Uhuru Highway). The Royal State Lodge in Sagana had also been conferred to her as ‘a wedding gift from the people of Kenya’ in 1949 although she had never had a chance to see it. Finally in February 1952, in her ailing father’s stead, she visited the country in the sunny month of February and was received with pomp.
Upon her arrival at Nairobi Airport, she was greeted by African chiefs and their wives as well as the colonial leadership. After a garden party at Government House (State House), she travelled north to the Aberdare Ranges at Treetops Hotel. She was almost trampled by an elephant that showed up 11 yards in front of her just as she was approaching the ladder that would take her to the lobby. Rather than panic she cooly made her way to the ladder in slow unalarming movements and safely ascended it.
She spent the night there with her husband and consort Prince Philip and unbeknownst to them, King George VI passed on. By the time she was making it down for the journey to the Royal State Lodge, she was no longer a princess.
When the coded message announcing the king’s death was telegrammed to Sagana, no one was there to decipher it. That ran the risk of the princess finding out about her father’s demise via unofficial channels. Luckily, one of the reporters in the caravan got the news and announced it to Elizabeth’s private secretary, Martin Charteris. The news was shocking and it cut the trip short before she was able to enjoy her wedding gift.
First, though she made her way to Government House where the governor had just jetted back in to read to her the proclamation of her ascension. It was therefore in Nairobi where Princess Elizabeth officially became Queen and after her coronation would go on to be the longest reigning monarch in British History having ruled for 70 years. This was the first time in 200 years that a British Monarch was ascending the throne while they were abroad. In her honor, the road leading from Government Road (Moi Avenue) to Parliament Road was named Queensway (Mama Ngina Street). This would forever cement Kenya as a darling in the British overseas dominions.
Not long after Queen Elizabeth’s departure, the Maumau insurgence, which had been secretly growing, erupted into an all-out war. A State of Emergency was declared in October 20th 1952 after the murder of Senior Chief Waruhiu who was one of the African leaders presented to Princess Elizabeth at the airport. In the years of the emergency, movement was limited and there was a daytime curfew as Africans were herded into restricted villages. Although the war was particularly bad in 1953 and ’54, it had relatively cooled off by 1956.
In a bid to repopularise their favoured destination, Princess Margaret was set to visit the colony in September 1956. She arrived at the port of Mombasa where no expense was spared in the preparation for her reception. As per the usual format she was greeted by the Governor and various Coastal leaders before her journey into the hinterland via the railway. She made stops at Machakos where she inspected a guard of scouts in a beautiful ceremony.
In Nairobi, she held several garden parties in Government House and visited the various attractions in Nairobi including the hotels alluring to tourists on Safari. The British elite had a chance to rub shoulders with royalty before she departed to Nakuru. She also watched the Royal Agricultural Show as an honored guest and conducted the award ceremony accompanied by Bruce McKenzie.
In Kakamega, Princess Margaret was able to make good on a promise Queen Elizabeth had made 2 years earlier. She visited James Shiraku Inyundo, a railway worker who had built the first brick house in Western Kenya. The queen had promised to visit him but had not gotten a chance to and it was her sister who had the honor of ‘officially opening’ his home. It remains to this day as Martha’s Guest House and is a Heritage Museum.
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