Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip landed on America’s shores in February 1983 after sailing the Royal Yacht Britannia, which docked at San Diego’s Broadway Pier, across the Atlantic Ocean.
Although she had thought that an official visit to a US president should take place in Washington, then-president Ronald Reagan convinced the queen to go to his home state of California.
The official 10-day tour began with tunes of God Save the Queen, the US national anthem and the roaring cheers of about 3,000 well-wishers.
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US actress Marilyn Monroe and actor Victor Mature meet the British monarch at the Empire Theatre in London. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth II meets actor Charlie Chaplin at the Empire Theatre in London. Getty -
She meets actress Veronica Hurst and actor Rock Hudson at the Royal Film Performance in London in 1952. Getty -
Frank Sinatra is presented to Queen Elizabeth at a movie premiere. PA -
The queen with US actress Jayne Mansfield and British actor Stanley Baker at the Odeon Theatre in London. AP -
Queen Elizabeth meets actor Rex Harrison and his wife Rachel Roberts at the premiere of 'Dr Dolittle' in London. Getty -
Mother Teresa receives the Insignia of the Honorary Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth in New Delhi. AP -
South African leader Nelson Mandela with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. AP -
The queen meets Spice Girls members Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth with US performer Jennifer Lopez in London. Getty -
The monarch with pop star Madonna at London's Albert Hall. WireImage -
Queen Elizabeth greets actor Sir Roger Moore at Windsor Castle. Getty -
She shakes hands with US singer Lady Gaga in Blackpool, England. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth meets US actress and singer Bette Midler. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth at Wimbledon with tennis stars Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. Getty -
UK tennis player Andy Murray and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland meet the queen at Wimbledon. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with with Pope Benedict XVI at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which was her official residence in Scotland. Getty -
She meets actor Rowan Atkinson and actress Gillian Anderson at Buckingham Palace. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth presents artist David Hockney with the Order of Merit at Buckingham Palace. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth speaks to actresses Joan Collins and Kate O'Mara and singer Shirley Bassey. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth and musician Gary Barlow on stage during the diamond jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace. Getty -
From left, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones and Sir Paul McCartney meet the monarch after a diamond jubilee event. Getty -
The queen takes part in a spoof of James Bond alongside actor Daniel Craig for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012. AFP -
Queen Elizabeth greets singer Andrea Bocelli. Getty -
The queen meets Nicola Roberts, Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding from pop group Girls Aloud. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth greets singer Kylie Minogue. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth receives an honorary Bafta from actor Kenneth Branagh at Windsor Castle. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth meets 'Star Wars' director George Lucas at Windsor Castle. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth speaks to British actor Christopher Lee. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth with actress Carey Mulligan and actor James Nesbitt. Getty -
She speaks to director Tom Hooper and actor Eddie Redmayne. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth greets singer Sir Rod Stewart during a reception for the Royal National Institute for the Blind at St James's Palace. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth watches Dame Helen Mirren perform a speech from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. Getty -
The queen with actress Gemma Arterton at Buckingham Palace. Getty -
Actress Angelina Jolie is presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Elizabeth. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth greets singer Annie Lennox at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth with 'Vogue' editor Anna Wintour. AP -
Queen Elizabeth meets British singer Liam Payne at Westminster Abbey. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth meets former England footballer David Beckham at Buckingham Palace. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth talks to British boxer Anthony Joshua. Getty -
Queen Elizabeth ll meets Liz Taylor and husband John Warner at a gala dinner in 1976 in Washington. Getty Images -
Perry Como, Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick serenaded the queen on her 1983 California visit and George Burns acted as master of ceremonies. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip join Nancy Reagan during a red carpet celebrity-filled event at 20th Century Fox studios on February 27, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
Before heading north to Los Angeles, the queen and prince visited the world-famous San Diego Zoo, the USS Ranger aircraft carrier and the Old Globe theatre in Bilbao Park.
She then travelled to Los Angeles for a star-studded gala at 20th Century Fox studios, where the M*A*S*H sound stage was transformed into a venue fit for a queen.
Hosted by first lady Nancy Reagan, notable performers who attended included Michael Caine, Elton John, Fred Astaire, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Ginger Rogers, Loretta Young, Irene Dunne, June Allyson and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick and George Burns performed at the gala, while Ed McMahon acted as the evening’s master of ceremonies.
Two days later, the queen was greeted in Los Angeles by the city’s mayor, Tom Bradley.
In a speech at City Hall, she defended Britain’s actions in the Falkland Islands and praised Los Angeles’ diversity and economy.
She even made a joke comparing her northward journey from San Diego to a trip made 400 years ago by Sir Francis Drake, “who [unsuccessfully] claimed this territory as Nova Albion for the first Queen Elizabeth and for the queen’s successors forever”.
She then paid a visit to Reagan’s California ranch near Santa Barbara.
Torrential rains pounded the coastline and almost blocked the queen’s ascent to the mountaintop retreat.
But she finally made it in a Chevy Suburban, which navigated the terrain described by the Los Angeles Times as “a narrow, twisting, steep obstacle course of flooded streams, washed-out sections, downed tree limbs and falling boulders”.
“She found the trip delightful and terribly exciting,” Elizabeth’s press secretary was quoted as saying.
Reagan had been eager to impress her with his 278-hectare Rancho del Cielo and was surprised that the queen was not deterred by the weather.
“They made it up the mountain but when they got to our home, it was so foggy no one could see more than a few feet,” he wrote in his autobiography An American Life.
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Queen Elizabeth II welcomes former US president John Kennedy to Buckingham Palace. AP -
The queen did not meet with Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson. AP -
Queen Elizabeth speaking during a banquet in Buckingham Palace alongside Barack Obama, the US president at the time. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth with US President Joe Biden at Windsor Castle in England on June 13, 2021. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth with the Bidens at Windsor Castle. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth with US first lady Jill Biden in the Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle. Getty Images -
The Bidens with the queen at Windsor Castle. Reuters -
Mr Biden and Queen Elizabeth. Reuters -
Ms Biden with the queen at Windsor Castle. Reuters -
Mr Biden and his wife with the queen after attending the G7 Leader's Summit. Getty Images -
Former US president Barack Obama and the queen during a State Banquet in Buckingham Palace on May 24, 2011 in London. Getty Images -
Mr Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are welcomed by the queen to Buckingham Palace on April 1, 2009. Photo: White House -
Ms Obama greets football star David Beckham at a dinner in honour of the queen at Winfield House in London, on May 25, 2011. Photo: US National Archives -
Mr Obama and Queen Elizabeth greet guests including actor Colin Firth at Winfield House, on May 25, 2011. Photo: US National Archives -
Mr Obama and his wife attend a State Banquet hosted by the queen at Buckingham Palace. Photo: US National Archives -
Mr and Mrs Obama receive the queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, prior to a dinner in the queen's honour at Winfield House in London. Photo: US National Archives -
Mr and Ms Obama talk with the queen, Prince Philip, US ambassador Louis Susman and his wife, Margaret. Photo: US National Archives -
The queen and the Obamas at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador. Getty Images -
The Obamas walk out to pose with the queen and Prince Phillip before a state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Reuters -
Mr Obama and his wife pose for photographs with the queen and Prince Philip during an audience at Buckingham Palace on April 1, 2009. Getty Images -
Former US president Donald Trump and the queen inspect a Guard of Honour, formed of the Coldstream Guards, at Windsor Castle in July 2018. Getty Images -
Former US first lady Melania Trump, the queen and the Duchess of Cornwall during the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace. Photo: US National Archives -
Mr Trump was criticised for walking ahead of the queen. Getty Images -
The queen stands with Mr Trump and his wife Melania Trump as they listen to the US national anthem during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace. AFP -
The queen with Mr Trump as he arrived in Britain for a state visit, which was overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. AFP -
Bill Clinton, the US president at the time, talks with the queen with Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea at the Garden Entrance of Buckingham Palace in December 2000. AFP -
The queen, George W Bush, the US president at the time, Laura Bush, and the Duke of Edinburgh pose in the music room at Buckingham Palace in November 2003. Getty Images -
The queen made a state visit to the US White House and was received by then-president George HW Bush and his wife Barbara Bush, along with Prince Philip, in May 1991. Getty Images -
The queen and former US president George W Bush meet well-wishers outside the White House in May 2007. Getty Images -
The queen accompanying Mr Bush, his wife Laura, then-US secretary of state Colin Powell and his wife Alma Powell, and the Duke of Edinburgh as they enter the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace in 2003. AP -
The elder Bush and his wife arrive on May 16, 1991, at a dinner at the British embassy in Washington accompanied by the queen and her husband. AFP -
Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Prince Philip, the queen, former French president Jacques Chirac, Bernadette Chirac, George W Bush, Ms Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend the commemoration ceremony for the 60th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2004, in Arromanches, France. Getty Images -
Then-US president Jimmy Carter joins the queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace when he and six other world leaders attended a dinner. Getty Images -
The queen raises a glass with then-US president Gerald Ford. Photo: US National Archives -
The queen dances with Ford at the White House in Washington. Photo: US National Archives / Ford Library -
Prince Philip, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the queen and US president at the time John Kennedy appear together at Buckingham Palace after a dinner party in 1961. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth out riding with then-US president Ronald Reagan at Windsor Park. PA -
Queen Elizabeth with the West German chancellor at the time Helmut Kohl, Reagan, and the British prime minister at the time Margaret Thatcher at Buckingham Palace. AP -
Reagan and Queen Elizabeth at a gala dinner at Windsor Castle. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth with UK prime minister at the time Edward Heath and then-US president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon at Chequers in Buckinghamshire. PA -
Queen Elizabeth with Nixon. AP -
Queen Elizabeth entertains Nixon during a lunch at Buckingham Palace. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth hosting Jimmy Carter, the US president at the time. Photo: US National Archives -
Carter reportedly kissed the queen's mother on the mouth. Photo: US National Archives -
The queen and Carter at a state dinner at Buckingham Palace. PA -
Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth smile for the cameras during the group photo session at the Guildhall before a celebratory banquet for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. AFP -
Clinton and his wife Hillary meet Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. AFP -
Before she became queen, then-Princess Elizabeth joined President Harry Truman in the chief executive's limousine for her ride to Blair House after arriving at Military Air Transport Service Terminal in Washington. Photo: US National Archives -
Queen Elizabeth with US president Harry S Truman. Photo: US National Archive
"I tried to explain how beautiful the place really was and apologised for the weather."
“But the queen said, ‘Yes, if it was just dreary, but this is an adventure'.”
She then ventured a little further north to San Francisco where six floors below the presidential suite of the St Francis Hotel on Union Square (now the Westin St Francis) were cleared to accommodate the royal couple.
The suite has since been renamed the Windsor Suite in honour of the visit.
The royals and the Reagans then had dinner and drinks at Trader Vic’s — the once famous, now-closed Tiki-themed restaurant.
The following day, at Davies Symphony Hall, Tony Bennett regaled the queen with I Left My Heart in San Francisco, alongside actress Mary Martin and young comic Robin Williams.
Reagan then hosted a dinner at the city's MH de Young Museum.
“I knew before we came that we had exported many of our traditions to the United States," the queen said in her dinner speech.
"I had not realised before that weather was one of them."
The visit also coincided with the Reagans' 31st wedding anniversary, which the couple did not mind celebrating with the queen aboard the Britannia.
“There were toasts and I said, ‘I know I promised Nancy a lot when we were married, but how can I ever top this?’” Reagan wrote.
Later that week, a pall was cast on the visit after three US Secret Service agents collided with a Mariposa County Sheriff’s Department car on a curvy California highway.
The agents, who were part of a detail protecting the queen, all died.
