Gov. John Burns gives Queen Elizabeth II an ilima lei.
In 1963, Queen Elizabeth visited Honolulu in February and March, during refueling stops on her way to Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia, which are all part of the Commonwealth.
The first trip in February was unofficial and didn’t have much fanfare, although then-Gov. John Burns greeted the queen upon her arrival and she was given a double carnation lei.
For her trip in March, 4,500 people gathered to wave at Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip when they landed in Honolulu. The royal pair flew in a silver, black and white BOAC jet, which was topped with the queen’s yellow, blue and red standard, according to a March 28, 1963, issue of The Honolulu Advertiser. As she disembarked, “conch shells blew and applause rippled.”
Upon her arrival, Gov. John Burns gave the queen a four-stranded orange ilima lei, which matched the “honeysuckle print in bright coral shades” that adorned her turquoise dress, according to the newspaper. She also wore a turquoise rough-weave horsehair hat, a pearl necklace and earrings, and white gloves.
In a lounge adjacent to the airport’s gardens, she drank tea with Gov. Burns and his wife, Beatrice. The governor also introduced Queen Elizabeth to a small gathering of special guests, which included Duke Kahanamoku and his wife, Nadine. “All the women curtseyed as they were presented,” The Honolulu Advertiser wrote.
As a gift, Burns gave the queen a Hawaiian flag boxed in a koa chest.
“Noting the Union Jack which is a part of the Hawaii state flag, Burns termed it a token of our ‘love and respect for the British people of whom you are the reigning monarch,’” The Honolulu Advertiser said.
She was also given macadamia nuts, orchids, hand-carved wooden roses, and two cartons of fresh pineapples.
The Kamehameha Schools’ Concert Glee Club, a girls’ chorus, wore muumuu and sang “Beautiful Kahana” and “Aloha Oe” before the queen departed.
The whole trip lasted less than an hour.
