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We left the continuous history of the 16^e Governor General, Lord Athlone, at the 1943 and 1944 Quebec Conferences, held at La Citadelle, Quebec – a fortress that has long protected Quebec City and Canada, including from the Americans. It was also a refuge for the British garrison until 1867, when Canada became responsible for its own defence. “The preservation of a large part of the fortifications and defenses of Quebec is due to the intervention of the Governor General of Canada, the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, who also established the Citadel as a vice-regal residence in 1872, reconnecting with a tradition dating back to the founding of New York. France. Since 1920, the Citadelle has been the home of the Royal 22nd Regiment of the Canadian Forces.

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Having taken this inevitable tangent, it is time to return to 1943 and 1944 and the Quebec Conferences, convened by the Governor General of Canada, Earl of Athlone. They were designed to strategize to deal with the realities of World War II by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King.

“Athlone has been careful to keep a low profile at conferences. Nevertheless, tensions existed between Mackenzie King and Athlone during the Quebec Conferences. The Prime Minister feared being overshadowed by the vice-regal couple [Alice and wives of others attending were present]. King was particularly offended when Athlone said he was glad the Prime Minister “came”, as if his presence was not required. In turn, Athlone saw the Prime Minister as a “little puzzle”.

As we learned, Athlone’s opinion of Mackenzie King’s perplexity was not his own. Nevertheless, “relationships between the two men remained seemingly cordial throughout Athlone’s tenure”.

Speaking earlier of the Second World War, it was at this time that “the Athlones [and Canadian government] provided refuge for members of European royal families displaced by Nazi Germany”. Among those housed at Rideau Hall were Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha of Norway; Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Félix of Luxembourg; King Peter of Yugoslavia; and King George of Greece.

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European royal visitors to Canada during World War II included those who took refuge from the war: Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and her two, eventually three, daughters. Princess Alice was a first cousin of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands – their mothers were sisters. Juliana and her daughters, in 1940, were at Rideau Hall, then at 120 Lansdowne Road, then at Stornoway, now the home of the Leader of the Opposition, until the end of the war. “When she received these royalties at Rideau Hall, Princess Alice invariably had them working making clothes for those bombed in the London blitz.” The source does not specify whether the same request was made to Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary and her daughters temporarily housed in Quebec at La Citadelle.

Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard’s third child, Princess Margriet Francisca, was born on January 19, 1943 at Ottawa Civic Hospital. Athlone “declared part of the extraterritorial motherhood…to ensure that the child had Dutch nationality alone”.

When Juliana and her three children – Beatrix, Irene, Margriet – returned to their home country in 1945, “she [or the Netherlands government on her behalf] sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa to thank the Canadians for their role in the liberation of the Netherlands and for being the home of the Dutch Royal Family”. Juliana reportedly sent another 20,500 the following year. Margriet continues to send bulbs to supplement her mother’s contributions.

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According to the Toronto Star, on May 6, 2022, the Canadian Tulip Festival, May 13-23, will spotlight “a million tulip bulbs [flowers] will cover Ottawa in a sea of ​​red, yellow, orange, pink and white. The festival began with an idea expressed by nature photographer Malak Karsh, brother of portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh, in 1952, and launched in 1953. The idea flourished, not only in Ottawa, but also across Canada. At the time, after the war, he commented when the tulips bloomed, they “brought color back to a still gray world”. [Still do].

On May 13, 2022, CTV reported that the Canadian Tulip Festival “is off to a very royal start. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands is in Ottawa to mark the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and the role Canadians played during the Second World War. The Mayor of Ottawa [Jim Watson] recalled the fluttering of the Dutch flag above the Peace Tower. “The only time a foreign flag has received this honor.” The honour, as you remember, was in recognition of the birth of Princess Margreit in 1943. As well as opening the festival, she and her husband, Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven, planted tulip bulbs in Stornoway House. Margriet has said in the past, although she does not hold Canadian citizenship, “Nevertheless, I consider Canada my second home – Canada and Canadians have certainly influenced me over the years”.

During the war years in Ottawa, Governor General Athlone and Princess Alice were busy entertaining all kinds of people at Rideau Hall. “In addition to the political and military figures involved in the direction of the [Second World War] war, people like Charles de Gaulle, General Smuts, Madame Chiang Kaishek, many movie stars, singers and artists promoting Victory Loans were entertained by the Athlones. Apart from their indoor entertainment, they endeavored to “encourage social life outdoors”, for recreational purposes.

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They continued their viceregal duties until 1946, when their terms ended. Prior to their departure, Lord Athlone’s words on learning of his appointment as Governor General of Canada were: “We feel we shall love Canada”.

“When he and Princess Alice left Ottawa and the post of Governor General, in March 1946, there was no doubt that they had and that the tears shed by His Royal Highness at the departure were sincere. By then, they knew enough about Canada to offer sound advice. “Canada can only be a nation if Canadians have a national perspective. It is vain to sing O Canada unless the whole Dominion is meant and not just an individual province,” Princess Alice warned in her last speech.

At the end of Athlone’s term as Governor General, Prime Minister Mackenzie King is quoted as saying, “He has strengthened the country’s attachment to the Crown.” In addition, “the refuge offered by the Athlones to the Dutch royal family also strengthened relations between Canada and the Netherlands and the Quebec conferences contributed to the victory of the Allies in the Second World War”.

Earlier, in 1945, then Canadian Ambassador to the United States, then Canadian Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson, who had entertained the viceregal couple in Washington, recalled: “Their natural simplicity and kindness made them easy and welcoming. And Athlone, “a born tourist and a very kind and lovable man”. Although some suggest he had his angry moments as well.

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The Vice-Regal couple returned to Britain via the Caribbean in 1946. When in Britain they lived with Queen Mary, Athlone’s sister, at Marlborough House and later in apartments at Kensington Palace , once the war damage has been repaired.

Lord Athlone continued, after the Canadian break, his studies and medical interests, including that of Chancellor of the University of London, until his retirement from the post in 1954–55.

The University has recognized Athlone’s contribution over many years: “Throughout the long period since your appointment in 1932, you have presided over the affairs of the University with a dignity seldom equaled. We recall with deep gratitude your continued interest in all aspects of the work of the University, and wish to express our deep appreciation for the many services you have rendered to it. Above all, we thank you for the impetus you have given our students by your presence at their various receptions and for the unfailing friendliness and courtesy you have shown in your relations with all the members of the University. .

“We have been very fortunate that in the performance of your official duties, Her Royal Highness Princess Alice has been constantly at your side and we would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the grace and distinction she has added to the ceremonies which are a visible expression of the corporate life of the University.

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As you can correctly imagine, the Athlones will appear in the next Meditations,

Sources: Peace River remembers, Jack Coulter, Frank Richardson; Turning the Pages of Time – History of Nampa and surrounding districts; Records from the Mackenzie Peace River Museum, Archives and Center; Peace River Record-Gazette; Peace River Standard; Coots, Codgers and Curmudgeons – Hal C. Sisson and Dwayne W. Rowe; Edmonton Journal; Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21; Canadian history; Northern Gazette; Peace River file; Northern Review; The Canadian Encyclopedia

Beth Wilkins is a researcher at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre.