It was 1991. George H.W. Bush was president, and it was time for Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to watch the Orioles play baseball at Memorial Stadium.
Her visit, according to The Baltimore Sun, drove huge ticket sales at Memorial Stadium and well-meaning residents flooded the phone lines at City Hall, asking to meet the royals or to offer them a song, or flowers.
The royals and the Bushes waved to the crowd for about 30 seconds, according to United Press International. They left after the second inning. The Orioles did not win. The queen did not eat anything during a reception before the game, according to the UPI report — but she did enjoy a Beefeater martini.
While it was the queen’s only visit to Baltimore, it was not her only time in Maryland. In 1957, the queen and her husband Prince Philip watched as the University of Maryland Terrapins football team beat the North Carolina Tar Heels in a 21-7 upset. It was her first visit to the United States as queen. She had specifically requested the chance to see an American football game, according to The Washington Post.
According to the University of Maryland Archives, the campus went to great lengths to prepare for the royal visit, including construction of a special box where the queen and her guests watched the game. Elizabeth was interested in the differences between American football and rugby, and was driven around the track as the school bands played.
1/6 · Football program cover from the game between the University of Maryland and the University of North Carolina, also known as the "Queen's Game," October 19, 1957. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended the game at Byrd Stadium in order to witness a "typical American sport." University of Maryland, College Park. Dept. of Intercollegiate Athletics.
2/6 · Queen Elizabeth II with Governor Theodore McKeldin and team captains while checking the coin to be used for the coin toss at a University of Maryland football game against the University of North Carolina, October 19, 1957. Prince Philip is pictured at the far right. Courtesy of University of Maryland Archives.
3/6 · The University of Maryland marching band in formation on the field with the card section forming the Union Jack flag in the background during the Queen's Game at the University of Maryland on October 19, 1957. Courtesy of University of Maryland Archives.
4/6 · A color photograph from the Terrapin yearbook of Queen Elizabeth sitting in the stands watching a Maryland football game, 1957. Courtesy of University of Maryland Archives.
5/6 · Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she sits in the stands at a football game between the University of Maryland and the University of North Carolina, October 19, 1957. In her row, from left to right: University of Maryland President Wilson Elkins, the Queen, Governor Theodore McKeldin, Mrs. Dorothy Elkins, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Courtesy of University of Maryland Archives.
6/6 · Queen Elizabeth's ticket stub to the University of Maryland versus University of North Carolina football game, October 19, 1957. Courtesy of University of Maryland Archives.
The queen left shortly before the game ended in order to have dinner with President Dwight D. Eisenhower — and to beat traffic.
The queen and NASA
Fifty years later, the queen would be back on this side of the Atlantic, and once again spent time in Maryland. She and her husband visited the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and spoke with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
1/3 · HRH Queen Elizabeth II stands next to Michael Foale as she sees live images from the International Space Station on a monitor in mission control as she visits NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on May 7, 2007 in Greenbelt, Maryland. This is the final day of a six day state tour of the United States to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown. This will be the fourth time that Her Majesty and His Royal Highness have visited the US.
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3/3 · HM Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by children on her walk from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center mission control to a reception in the center’s main auditorium May 8, 2007 in Greenbelt, Maryland. The queen is on the last of a six-day visit to the U.S with her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Were you in Baltimore when Queen Elizabeth came to town? Or maybe you were part of the crowd that greeted her in Greenbelt? If you’ve got a Baltimore or Maryland-related memory of the queen, we’d love to hear it. Send me an email or reach out on Twitter and we might include your memories and photos in this story.
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Cody Boteler is a reporter on The Banner’s Express Desk, reporting on breaking news, trending stories and interesting things in and around Baltimore. His work has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, USA TODAY, Baltimore magazine and others.
