During her life Queen Elizabeth II came to Vancouver a total of six times on official visits, meeting with locals and dignitaries, while also visiting notable sights around the city (and opening one important site).
Her first official trip to B.C. came in 1951, while she was still Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth; less than a year later she would become Queen after her father passed. The 25-year-old princess, along with her husband Prince Philip, spent a month travelling the country by train, with a couple of days in Vancouver and Victoria, as well as a private retreat in Qualicum Beach.
Less than a decade later she and Prince Philip returned to Canada's West Coast on another coast-to-coast trip. on this visit the young queen was busy, attending a performance at Theatre Under the Stars, visiting veterans and attending an event at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which had just opened and named in her honour.
For the next couple of decade,s the Queen was not often a visitor to the area. In 1971 she visited Vancouver and B.C. to celebrate its entry into the confederation. Along with Vancouver she, along with Prince Philip and Princess Anne, visited Victoria, Comox, Prince Rupert and Williams Lake.
In 1983 Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrived in town on the Royal Yacht Britannia on a three-day trip to the area, which also included New Westminster, Nanaimo and Vernon.
A longer trip to Canada in 1987 included Vancouver, where she helped rededicate the Expo Centre as the new Science World. While in B.C. she also unveiled B.C.'s new Coat of Arms.
While in B.C. in 1994, she skipped Vancouver and spent more time in Victoria where she opened the Commonwealth Games.
Her final trip to B.C. was in October of 2002, almost exactly 51 years to the day she first came to Vancouver. On the trip, which was part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee, she unveiled a stained glass window in Victoria and dropped the puck at a Canucks exhibition game.
On Sept. 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, having reigned over the United Kingdom and Commonwealth (of which Canada is a member) for more than 70 years.
