Princess Elizabeth square dancing - 1951
These photographs of then Princess Elizabeth (and Prince Philip) square dancing took place during a visit to Canada in 1951. The press coverage helped spur the rapid growth of square dancing in that country.
In his monthly column, "As I See It" (American Square Dance, October, 1995, p. 75), Bob Osgood passed along information about that event.
See the related item for the actual letters back and forth between Osgood and the Pereiras, with details of how the event came to be, the many people involved in planning, even information about the clothing that Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were wearing. We learn there that Tony Griffin was the caller at the event.
===
We received a pair of letters from Bob and Ruth Pereira, Carp., Ontario, Canada, shedding more light on our May '95 story about the time in 1951 when then Princess Elizabeth square danced at Government House in Ottawa. Here, from his detailed research, is a condensed account of Bob's story.
"The idea of the Royal Square Dance Party originated with the Governor General, Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Lady Alexander who were introduced to square dancing at the 1950 Calgary Stampede and immediately became square dance buffs During their stay at Government House, square dancing was often a featured entertainment and they proposed that as their special 'do' during the two days of official ceremonies of the Royal Tour in Ottawa, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh be invited to a private square dance party.
"The dance was private in the strictest sense of the word; no press, and special invitations were sent to only 80 guests..." This guest list incidentally read like a who's who of government officialdom.
And how did the royal couple know how to handle the dancing? For one thing, both the Princess and the Duke were carefully "paired up" with others of the invited guests who knew how to square dance. In addition, during the dinner preceding the dance several of the dancers, using lumps of sugar as dancers, explained to the royal couple the elementary points of square dancing. According to A.G.S. "Tony" Griffin, one of the hosting dancers, the couple "caught on very quickly due in part to the pair's knowledge of Highland Dancing."
Tags: Ottawa, Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth
Item Relations
| This Item | is related to | Item: Princess Elizabeth square dancing - details |
Citation
Dublin Core
Title
Subject
Description
In his monthly column, "As I See It" (American Square Dance, October, 1995, p. 75), Bob Osgood passed along information about that event.
See the related item for the actual letters back and forth between Osgood and the Pereiras, with details of how the event came to be, the many people involved in planning, even information about the clothing that Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were wearing. We learn there that Tony Griffin was the caller at the event.
===
We received a pair of letters from Bob and Ruth Pereira, Carp., Ontario, Canada, shedding more light on our May '95 story about the time in 1951 when then Princess Elizabeth square danced at Government House in Ottawa. Here, from his detailed research, is a condensed account of Bob's story.
"The idea of the Royal Square Dance Party originated with the Governor General, Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Lady Alexander who were introduced to square dancing at the 1950 Calgary Stampede and immediately became square dance buffs During their stay at Government House, square dancing was often a featured entertainment and they proposed that as their special 'do' during the two days of official ceremonies of the Royal Tour in Ottawa, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh be invited to a private square dance party.
"The dance was private in the strictest sense of the word; no press, and special invitations were sent to only 80 guests..." This guest list incidentally read like a who's who of government officialdom.
And how did the royal couple know how to handle the dancing? For one thing, both the Princess and the Duke were carefully "paired up" with others of the invited guests who knew how to square dance. In addition, during the dinner preceding the dance several of the dancers, using lumps of sugar as dancers, explained to the royal couple the elementary points of square dancing. According to A.G.S. "Tony" Griffin, one of the hosting dancers, the couple "caught on very quickly due in part to the pair's knowledge of Highland Dancing."