Snapshots of the Queen’s visits from Jersey Archive

• Wesley Smith has this report.

The Jersey Archive is home to a collection of Royal artefacts which give an insight into the Queen’s time in the Channel Islands.

Rare documents held in temperature-controlled conditions reveal long-forgotten details of Her Majesty’s visits over the years.

One of these is a letter from the Bailiff to the Lieutenant-Governor in 1946. 

In the letter the Bailiff thanks the then Princess Elizabeth for sending honey over for the children of Jersey after the deprivation of war.

Other precious documents in the archive include a copy of Her Majesty’s first speech in Jersey, a copy of Jersey’s Coronation programme and a copy of requirements for one of the Royal couple’s early visits to the island.

The items requested for the Queen’s cloakroom are modest, including cotton wool, face tissues, a box of powder, a powder puff and a pink face towel. 

Years later in 1989, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip returned to Jersey and signed the visitors' book at Mont Orgueil Castle, which is now housed at the Archive.

Their signatures are just a few pages after those of King George V and Queen Mary - Queen Elizabeth II’s grandparents, who visited in 1921.

During a more recent visit to Jersey in 2001, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were invited to dine at Longueville Manor.

The menu was a real showcase of island food with Jersey crab, Jersey Royals and a thick Jersey cream all listed.

These are just a few snapshots from Jersey Archive’s Royal collection of the Queen’s trips to Jersey, preserved for many years to come.