ROYAL VISIT PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, May 1, 1975
QUEEN AND DUKE TO ARRIVE ON SUNDAY
Two Full Days Of A Packed Programme
An event unique in the history of Hong Kong unfolds on Sunday
at 6 p.m. when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive on a four-day
visit.
The Queen will be the first reigning British monarch to set foot on Hong Kong soil. Prince Philip was here once before, in 1959.
There have been 17 previous occasions since 1841 when members
of the Royal family have visited Hong Kong. The visit which begins on Sunday will be the 18th.
The first Royal Visit was in 1869 when Prince Alfred, Duke of
Edinburgh, called while on a world tour, and the last was in 1972 when
Princess Alexandra cane officially to open the cross harbour tunnel, accompanied by her husband, the Hon. Angus Ogilvy.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, passed through Hong Kong in
1970 en route to Expo 70 in Osaka, and the Duke of Kent was stationed in Hong Kong in 1962 as second in command of the Royal Scots Greys when the
regiment was here.
Although the Queen and the Duke will be in Hong Kong from Sunday
until Wednesday, the public programme on Sunday will be limited to their
arrival, ceremonial crossing of the harbour, and official welcome in the
City Hall.
On Wednesday morning, the Royal visitors will leave for Japan
at 9.25 a.m. after driving from Government House via the cross harbour tunnel
to Hong Kong International airport.
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