Royal Visit, Charlottetown, PEI, July 4, 2011 (5901979442)

Royal and viceroyal transport in Canada have included a variety of vehicles generally used for royal tours in Canada, and

viceregal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

official and ceremonial duties in both the provincial and the federal spheres. The technology employed has mirrored the development of transportation since the late 17th century, when the first members of the Royal Family ventured from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

. As the Canadian Royal Family is not predominantly resident in the country, those that belong to it have generally always had to make a trans-Atlantic crossing before switching to alternate over-land, water, or air transportation once in Canada.

Royal favour

As different forms of transportation developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, members of the Royal Family, like the general public, used them all. For instance,

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

(later King Edward VII), during the first true

royal tour of Canada Royal tours of Canada by the Canadian royal family have been taking place since 1786, and continue into the 21st century, either as an official tour, a working tour, a vacation, or a period of military service by a member of the royal family. ...

, which he undertook in 1860, was keen to try all the different forms of conveyance available, including steam ship and locomotive. His grandson, Edward, Prince of Wales, favoured American cars and became the first member of the Royal Family to pilot an airplane and, though his brother,

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

, was predictable and sedate in his choice of transport, George's wife,

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...

, tried everything from

golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced ...

s to

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s. Similarly,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

has travelled in the state

landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...

, a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

, and

monorail A monorail (from " mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accura ...

, the latter at her own personal request when touring

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

Air

Airbus CC-150 Polaris at Yellowknife Airport

The Royal Family has been mostly transported since the 1960s aboard the Canadian Royal Flight, originally using a CC-137 Husky, and currently using a customized CC-150 Polaris flown by crews of 437 Transport Squadron, based at 8 Wing,

Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large unincorporated community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues n ...

. 437 Squadron is part of the Air Transport Group, who, along with 412 Squadron in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, are charged with flying the Royal Family, the governor general, and other VIPs. Members of the Royal Family will also occasionally use commercial aircraft, such as when Queen Elizabeth II used a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and t ...

. Air Command helicopters and other aircraft are used where needed for shorter flights during segments of visits.

Land

Carriage and automobile

The Canadian state landau was originally purchased by Governor General

the Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the nob ...

from the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.King-in-Council. Save for a period during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the landau has been used for ceremonial processions through

of the governor general or members of the Royal Family, typically between the royal residence of

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main ...

and

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

. The landau is maintained by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

since 1911. Motorcade Winnipeg Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II also used another landau, but it is not owned by the Government of Canada. The C Spring Barouche landau, owned by the

Ontario Jockey Club Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), known as the Ontario Jockey Club from 1881 to 2001, is the operator of two horse racing tracks, a casino and off-track betting stations in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It also owns and operate ...

, was a gift from E.P. Taylor. Made by Barker and Company of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, it has been used to transport members of the Royal Family during the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

event in Toronto. Cars have been employed frequently to transport members of the Royal Family and governors general around localized areas of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. The sovereign's car bears a licence plate with a gold St. Edward's Crown on a red field. In 1926, in anticipation of the 1927 royal tour of

undertaken by Prince Edward of Wales (later the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a ...

) and his brother,

Prince George Prince George may refer to: People British princes * George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449-1478), middle brother of Edward IV and Richard III. * Prince George Augustus, later George II of Great Britain (1683–1760) * Prince George Will ...

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edw ...

, the first state cars of

, two Mclaughlin-Buick seven passenger open touring cars were constructed for their use by

General Motors Canada General Motors of Canada Company (french: La Compagnie General Motors du Canada), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. In the aftermath of t ...

Mclaughlin Motor Car Company McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited was a Canadian manufacturer of automobiles headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario. Founded by Robert McLaughlin, it once was the largest carriage manufacturing factory in the British Empire. Around 1905, Robert ...

, was a Canadian automobile company that produced cars under the marque Mclaughlin, later branded Mclaughlin-Buick, that was purchased in 1918 by General Motors and became its Canadian subsidiary. Two McLaughlin-Buick Phaetons were built for the 1939 Royal tour of

. One of these later carried Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, during their 1986 visit to Canada.

Rail

Railways were a frequently used mode of transportation for royal and vice-royal parties from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries; though, until the completion of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

(CPR), the viceregal party would have to pass through the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in order to reach the western parts of Canada. Dedicated carriages were constructed and special trains reserved for official and private trips, but, unlike other vehicles, were never owned by the monarch, either as head of state or in a private capacity; instead, they were built and maintained by the railway companies—the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

(CNR) and the CPR—each always attempting to better the other in terms of luxury and conveniences.

Prince Albert Edward Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

was in 1860 the first royal to use a train in Canada; the CPR constructed for his tour two railway cars, one specifically for a sightseeing journey across the Victoria Bridge in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

after its opening by the Prince. Then, in the 1880s,

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

the Marquess of Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise, were supplied with a

railway car A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

named ''Victoria'' for use in both travelling around the

provinces and territories Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

and as a mobile royal and vice-royal residence in parts of the country where amenities were minimal. When it was stopped at the yet-to-be-named capital of the

North-West Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, it was in this car that the Princess in 1882 named the new community '' Regina'', after her mother, the Queen. For the 1901 tour of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary), two railway cars were specially built by the CPR to serve as mobile royal quarters. One, named ''Cornwall'', served as the day car, with a reception room panelled in Circassian

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...

with blue and gold

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

ornament and fitted with a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

, as well as a dining room painted in a

Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

style, and a boudoir for the Duchess lined in silk. The other car, ''York'', contained the bedrooms, reached through a green velvet lined vestibule, the Duke's in grey and crimson and the Duchess' in blue. Altogether the Royal Train, which always followed the viceregal and ministerial train, consisted of ten cars totalling in length, the remainder being ''Canada'', with an additional five sleeping cabins; ''Sandringham'', the staff dining car; ''South Africa'', housing the secretaries' offices and medical dispensary; and ''Australia'' and ''India'', with further sleeping quarters. Three years later, the ''Alexandra'' was built and used as the primary VIP transport by members of the Royal Family, governors general, and prime ministers through to the 1920s. It was used, and, in contrast to his opinion of royal trains in Britain, enjoyed by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), during his months-long tours of Canada; as he said in 1919: "I progressed westward in a magnificent special train provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway. My quarters were in the rear car, which had an observation platform. This last... while providing me with a continuous view of the varied Canadian landscape had however the drawback of making me vulnerable to demands for ad lib speeches from the crowds gathered at every stop." Four years later, the Prince briefly took the controls of the CPR

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The loco ...

engine pulling the Royal Train. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on platform of Royal Train - Royal Tour 1939

In 1926, two other carriages were built for state use: the ''Mount Stephen''—which was used by the Duke and

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

; Princess Elizabeth and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

;

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

; and

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of Ki ...

—and the ''Wentworth''—which served as car number 5 (the accommodation for then prime minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

) of the Royal Train for the 1939 tour of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

and

. During that journey, the King, somewhat of a

railbuff A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

, rode in the engine cab when possible, and at the end of the trip gave his permission for the CPR both to use the prefix ''royal'' before the locomotive class' name of ''Hudson'' and to display the royal crown on the running boards of these engines. The engines and cars were sold and dispersed in later years; the ''Mount Stephen'' and ''Wentworth'' today form a part of the CPR's '' Royal Canadian Pacific'' train; the Royal Hudson No. 2850 resides at the

Canadian Railway Museum The Canadian Railway Museum (french: (Le) ''Musée ferroviaire canadien''), operating under the brand name Exporail in both official languages, is a rail transport museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, Canada, on Montreal's south shore. Locomotive ...

; and the car ''Pacific'', purchased by Paul Higgins, the former Chairman of Mother Parker's, now sits unused on a

spur line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

Ajax, Ontario Ajax (; 2021 population: 126,666) is a town in Durham Region in Southern Ontario, Canada, located in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area. The town is named for , a Royal Navy cruiser that served in the Second World War. It is approxi ...

. Until 1959, Royal Trains operated by the

and the federally-owned

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

were used to transport Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh across the country. For them, and all royal parties before them travelling by train, precautions were taken ahead of the locomotive; railway line staff would be placed at platforms and on bridges for crowd control, a scout train would check for problems ahead of the royal train's arrival, and other trains that might be running parallel with the Royal Train were made to move at a different speed to prevent passengers looking into the royal carriages. Today, the Royal Canadian Pacific train service operates in Western Canada and was given the 'Royal' designation in 2000.

Water

HMY Britannia Welland Canal 1959 MIKAN 4821456

Up until the middle of the 20th century, ships were frequently used for royal and vice-regal tours of Canada. Members of the Royal Family would voyage from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to the east coast of Canada at Halifax or Saint John, or transit the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

; from one of these ports they would then embark on a train for overland journey. The ships used were either commercial or military; for their 1939 tour,

and

travelled across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

on the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

ship RMS ''Empress of Australia'' for the westbound voyage, and on the RMS ''Empress of Britain'' eastbound. The royal yacht HMY ''Britannia'' was completed in 1954, and after the opening of the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...

in 1959, could sail into the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

. This ship was decommissioned in 1997, however, and last sailed in Canadian waters in the summer of 1983, when it carried Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal And Viceroyal Transport In Canada Monarchy in Canada

Royal vehicles Vehicles of Canada