Fifty years ago, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived at Quebec City to tour "the senior daughter of the dominions". This is a fond recollection of those few magic weeks and the outpouring of affection for the new king and his beautiful wife. Filled with contemporary pictures and anecdotes, this book captures the feeling of the times with a look at the way Canadians reacted to seeing their sovereign: the formal and informal photographs, the speeches and tributes, the advertising art, the menus for formal dinners, the music and poetry composed for the event.
The second section of the book chronicles the King and Queen's other visits to Canada before and after that epochal visit. The King was here as a young man. The Queen Mother has been to Canada many times since 1939, and in a moving speech at Queen's Park in Toronto in 1979 reflecting on the tour she said "I lost my heart to Canada and Canadians...."
Royal Spring includes an 8-page section on the most recent and golden anniversary visit -- July 1989.
Arthur Bousfield and Garry Toffoli are editor and associate editor of Monarchy Canada and co-authors of The Princesses of Wales.