Andrew Gregorovich

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who recently died at the age of 101, was one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century. I saw her three times including one time at a very unusual tea.

In 1939 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Canada. On their itinerary was the city of Saskatoon where I saw them as a young boy. I waved my British Union Jack flag fiercely as they rode by. Every school room in Canada probably had a portrait of the King and Queen in those days and it was a thrill to see them in person even though they whizzed by in their open car.

My mother was a Royalist with a great love for the Royal family all her life. Ukrainian Canadians were loyal to Canada and many, by tradition, honoured the Royal family. World War II from 1939 to 1945 strengthened the love and respect for the Queen Mother who stayed in Londons Buckingham Palace through the war in defiance of the German bombers and the V-1 and V-2 rockets.

Tea with the Queen Mother

On Monday, July 6, 1981 the Queen Mother came to Canada on a visit. She was invited to review her Toronto regiments, a group of soldiers at Fort York. I was Chairman of the Toronto Historical Board at the time and so I was the official host of Her Majesty at Fort York. It was a very hot and muggy day and the 80-year old Queen Mother, wearing a mauve dress with long white gloves and a matching hat and parasol, made her way slowly past the soldiers. As she neared the end of her inspection of the troops I went to the Officers Mess where I was to officially welcome her to Fort York, the 1793 cradle and birthplace of the City of Toronto.

There is a short hallway on entering the Officers Mess and I stepped back away from the door to allow the Queen space when she entered. She stepped inside the door, stopped and turned around to look back out the door towards the Toronto skyline. She paused for a minute or two enjoying the coolness of the building. I waited somewhat nervously for her to turn towards me. It seemed a very long time. Finally she turned towards me and smiled warmly. I welcomed her officially to Fort York and Toronto and invited her to have a cup of tea since it was in the middle of the afternoon. There were about twenty officers including Brigadier John McGinnis, and other people in the room with me including my mother. My mother had a blue dress, a yellow hat with white flowers and, of course, white gloves, a necessity for meeting Her Majesty.

Three chairs had been set up at the side of the room in front of the fireplace. I directed Her Majesty to the centre chair, and I sat down to the right of her and my mother sat on her left. The other people in the room stood back at a distance giving the three of us some privacy as the cups of tea were served to us.

The Queen Mother was very friendly. When I introduced my mother, Mary Gregorovich to her, they started a conversation about their grandchildren and Prince Andrew. When the Queen asked about my family name, I said it was Ukrainian. She remarked Ukraine has a beautiful culture. I assume she had probably seen Ukrainian dancers or choirs on her visits to western Canada. I was very surprised at how easily my mother talked to the Queen. In fact, my mother always seemed to have a regal quality. She had often been honoured as the wife of Alexander Gregorovich, the President of the Ukrainian National Federation, but she said many times that meeting the Queen Mother and having tea with her, was the most exciting moment in her life. Because the tea was hot I was a bit surprised that the Queen started to drink the tea with her spoon.

The three of us talked for about ten minutes in our little private tea party with a crowd only four metres away. For my mother, meeting the Queen Mother and sharing a cup of tea was the highlight of her life. She always had a picture of the three of us on her fireplace mantle in Hamilton.