1939 Royal Visit Captured in a One-of-a-Kind Diary

Enchanted by the festive atmosphere gripping her hometown and the rest of the country, Edmontonian Vera Collins described the 1939 Royal Visit a diary. Sixty-six years later, the original diary, preserved in the Provincial Archives of Alberta, is now available in a book.

The Visit to Canada of King George and Queen Elizabeth: A Journal by Vera Collins is an exact reproduction of the original penned by Collins including her captivating prose and beautiful watercolour paintings.

The diary follows the month long visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth that spanned the country by train. Collins would listen to the radio and read the newspaper to track the first visit by reigning monarchs to Canada. The diary culminates with the stop by His and Her Majesty in Edmonton on June 2. The city swelled from its usual 90,000 residents to more than 200,000 as people from across northern Alberta came to Edmonton for the historic day.

Vera Collins, known as Vera Webb after her marriage, donated the diary shortly before her death in 1998 to the Provincial Archives of Alberta, where it has since been available for public use in the facility's reading room. The diary has been published so Albertans can enjoy an engaging, personal narrative about a very public event.

More information

• Read the news release
• Provincial Archives of Alberta