Origin of the Crown in New Brunswick in
Saint John, New Brunswick, a
National Historic Site formerly occupied by the Loyalist Merritt family, who arrived in the colony in 1783 and lived in the house from 1817 until 1958 The modern Crown's place in New Brunswick is a result of
its history in the Maritimes region before New Brunswick itself was partitioned from
Nova Scotia in 1784 and named for the royal house of King
George III, the
House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. This administrative split became necessary due to the arrival of some 35,000 to 40,000
United Empire Loyalists, as well as about 3,500
Black Loyalists, fleeing as
refugees from the violence directed against them during and after the
American Revolution, between 1765 and 1791. One of George III's sons,
Prince Edward, arrived in
Nova Scotia, in 1794, after three years living in
Quebec City. Though he resided in Halifax, the Prince acted as commander-in-chief of both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and travelled throughout, visiting
Fredericton and
Saint John (including
Fort Howe), along the way meeting with the colony's inhabitants and first
lieutenant governor, Colonel
Thomas Carleton. The Prince set up a
semapore telegraph system between the two colonial capitals, Halifax and Fredericton. While strolling the grounds of
Government House, Albert Edward noted a canoeist on the
Saint John River and called him over. The figure turned out to be
Gabriel Acquin, who took Albert Edward on a jaunt across the river and a short way up the
Nashwaak. This impressed the Prince so much he requested a canoe and paddles be obtained for him to take to the United Kingdom. Acquin became well known as a craftsman and was invited to several international exhibitions in Britain, where he shared his
Wəlastəkwewiyik culture. Prince Albert Edward, with other members of the royal family, visited Acquin again when they were both at the
International Fisheries Exhibition in 1883.
Prince Alfred, Albert Edward's younger brother, visited the Maritimes in 1861 and embarked on a steamboat excursion on the Saint John River, from
Saint John to Fredericton, where the Prince also joined Gabriel Acquin on a canoe ride, as his brother had done the year before.
After the First World War ) at
Saint John, 15 August 1919 Edward VII's grandson, Prince Edward (later King
Edward VIII), toured New Brunswick in 1919.
After the Second World War , and
Premier of New Brunswick John B. McNair, followed by
the Duke of Edinburgh, walk from
Christ Church Cathedral to the
Legislative Building in
Fredericton, 6 November 1951 King
George VI's eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (later Queen
Elizabeth II), arrived aboard
the royal train in Fredericton with her husband,
the Duke of Edinburgh, on 6 November 1951, being greeted officially by the King's representative,
Lieutenant Governor David Laurence MacLaren, and, unofficially, by hundreds of spectators. In the capital, the couple visited
Christ Church Cathedral and the
Legislative Building before travelling on, via
Moncton and
Sackville, to
Saint John, where they met
First and
Second World War veterans at the Lancaster Hospital and attended a civic dinner in the
capital. and the couple's
Royal Canadian Mounted Police security detail overzealously confiscated the camera of a
forestry student who happened to end up close to the Princess; the Duke eased the situation and suggested the officers return the camera to its owner. Only a few months later, Princess Elizabeth acceded as Queen of Canada. Services of thanksgiving were held across the province for
her coronation on 2 June 1953 and denizens rose early to catch radio broadcasts of the ceremony from London, marched in Co ronation Day parades, danced at coronation balls, and watched fireworks displays. New Brunswickers also formed part of the
Canadian Coronation Contingent that travelled to the United Kingdom and took part in the coronation procession. Elizabeth made her first tour of New Brunswick as queen in 1959, arriving at Fredericton airport on 29 July; she and the Duke of Edinburgh (who, by then, also held the title of prince) were welcomed by Lieutenant Governor
Joseph Leonard O'Brien and a 100-man
guard of honour assembled by
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. In the capital, the couple took in harness racing and a
Queen's Scout recognition ceremony and, in Moncton, visited
Victoria Park. At
Pointe-du-Chêne, the Queen and Duke met with the families of fishermen
lost in the Escuminac hurricane. Fredericton artist Howard Berry painted a 2.44 by 1.22 metre (eight by four foot) portrait of the Queen that was hung on the porch of the Legislative Building; it contained three significant allegories: a granite boulder, symbolizing New Brunswickers' loyalty; a body of water, indicating the
St. Lawrence Seaway (which Elizabeth opened that year); and a glimpse of New Brunswick scenery, which was meant as an invitation.
The 1970s Fredericton was again the starting point of a provincial tour by the Queen and Prince Philip, on 15 July 1976. Lieutenant Governor
Hédard Robichaud (the first
Acadian to act as the Queen's representative in New Brunswick) was there for the royal couple's arrival, after which they visited the Legislative Building and
City Hall. At the parliament, Chief Anthony Francis, President of the
Union of New Brunswick Indians, presented a petition to the Queen, demonstrating the
connection between the Canadian Crown and the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Elizabeth and Philip stopped at the
Boy Scout and
Girl Guide jamboree at
Woolastook Provincial Park, where they had a picnic with the approximately 3,500 scouts and guides in attendance and watched performances by the Madawaska Dancers,
Les jeunes chanteurs d’Acadie, the Kiwanis Steel Band, and the St. Andrew's Pipe Band, there opening Morehouse House and launching the reproduction of the historical sailing ship,
Brunswick Lion, which greatly interested Prince Philip, given his naval background. followed by a fireworks show. The royal party moved on to
Newcastle, where the Queen, as Sovereign of the
Order of Saint John, met members of the
Saint John Ambulance Brigade, and visited with employees and their families at the Burchill Laminating Plant.
The 1980s The Queen and Prince Philip journeyed to New Brunswick to celebrate the province's bicentennial in 1984, arriving at Moncton on 24 September. The royal couple visited St. Joseph's Parish Church in
Shediac to unveil a plaque marking the parish's 100th anniversary, The next day, Elizabeth and Philip attended service at Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton and were at the Legislative Building, where the Queen issued a
royal warrant augmenting the
province's coat of arms with its present crest, supporters, compartment, and motto. The couple visited the University of New Brunswick for a lunch hosted by the provincial Crown, as well as Wilmot Park, where the Queen unveiled the plaque honouring Edward Wilmot for gifting the park to the city and recounting the park's official opening by Prince Albert Edward in 1860,
The 2000s For the
Golden Jubilee celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 50 years as Queen of Canada, she and her husband toured New Brunswick as part of their coast-to-coast-to-coast journey around the country, arriving in the province on 11 October 2002. At Government House, the Queen received the royal salute from, and inspected the
guard of honour mounted by, the
Royal New Brunswick Regiment; heard a
Maliseet aboriginal song of welcome; and met with veterans, members of the Saint John branch of the United Empire Loyalists Association, and other members of the public. The Queen also attended an investiture ceremony for inductees into the
Order of New Brunswick. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh the following day, 12 October 2002, visited
Sussex Elementary School for Elizabeth to open the school's new wing. The royal couple then moved on to watch an equestrian demonstration and meet with
4-H members and the public, including
war brides, at Princess Louise Park. In Moncton, the Queen and Duke performed a walkabout at Assumption Plaza on their way to the
Delta Beauséjour Hotel. Finally, at
Moncton airport, the Queen officially opened the new terminal and unveiled a plaque marking both that event and the designation of the
aerodrome as an international airport. In 2022, New Brunswick instituted a
provincial Platinum Jubilee medal to mark the Queen's
seventy years on the Canadian throne; the first time in Canada's history that a royal occasion was commemorated on
provincial medals. ==See also==