BROOKLINE, N.H. (WHDH) - Thousands of Bostonians were on-hand to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Boston nearly 50 years ago, but a select few were able to give her a tour of the city and its landmarks. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis was one of them.
Now 88, Dukakis has met his fair share of diplomats and dignitaries throughout his political career, but said on the day of the Queen’s passing that few were like the Queen herself.
“She was not a diplomat, she wasn’t trained for this stuff – she inherited the job and, I think, did it with grace and compassion and real skill,” Dukakis said at his home in Brookline.
Elizabeth rose to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25, after the passing of her father, King George VI, later becoming England’s longest-serving monarch.
In 1976, she arrived in the United States for a tour of several cities as the country celebrated its 200th anniversary. Dukakis, serving his first term as governor, was among the state and local leaders who met the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Part of the trip involved a private tour of the U.S.S. Constitution, which fired a 21-gun salute for the Royal Yacht Britannia. The former governor was on hand for the event, as well as a slip-up that made for a story he has not forgotten.
“I won’t forget that trip down that gangplank, I can tell you that,” Dukakis said.
Gov. Dukakis said that the Queen began to walk down a ramp to exit the Royal Yacht when she nearly slipped, causing a bit of an awkward moment as he and others had been informed not to touch the royalty.
“Last thing in the world we needed was her collapsing on this gangplank,” Dukakis recounted. “I would have caught her, I can tell you. (She) came down, then with a bump, stayed on her feet.”
He said what was funnier was how when he visited London years later, his story about the Queen nearly slipping turned into a tale that apparently never happened.
“I remember going to London years later and being told by the crew and so forth, by that time, I suspect they had all changed and they (had) a new crew, but being told it never could have happened? It happened, believe me,” he added.
Queen Elizabeth II’s death was announced by Buckingham Palace on Thursday. She was 96 years old.
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