The historic St Philip’s ACK Church in Naromoru – Nyeri, Kenya, holds a special place in the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II. It was here when in the morning of February 2, 1952, where the Queen attended her first church service after she rose to the throne hours after the death of her father King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II, then a princess was holidaying in Kenya at the Treetops Hotel when the news of the death of her father reached her.
A special memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II was held at the historic St Philips ACK Church in Naromoru, Nyeri County attended by British citizens and Kenyans where she 70 years ago she worshipped as Queen for the first time.
A tree – Brazilian Rosewood – that she planted on that morning still stands strong and the carpet she donated for church’s pew still in use more than 7 decades later.
A plaque in the church captured the moment Queen Elizabeth II worshipped there for the morning service before she left the country for the United Kingdom to take up her new duties as the Queen and succeeding her late father.
During the Saturday service a representative of the UK’s High Commission to Kenya Brigadier Ronnie said they were so used to the Queen in all their lives that it is going to take time to adjust to the new reality that there is now a King.
“Throughout our service we have the word Queen throughout. We have Queen’s regulations, we have Queen’s regiments, we serve our Queen and country. So changing that to a King will make us think what that means. We will continue with the examples she set and serve the new King,” she said in Naromoru
She was described as witty person sometime with a mischievous sense of humour. A story was told about the day she bumped into a group of America tourists at her summer home in Balmoral, Scotland where incidentally is where he died.
The tourists not knowing she was the Queen asked her, “have you ever met the Queen? “No, but he has,” she said pointing to her protection officer.
She proceeded to pose for pictures with the America tourists and later remarked that she would love to be a fly on the way to see their reactions when back home they shared their pictures with friends and who would discover she was indeed the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 after serving for 70 years setting a new record as the longest reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom. She will be buried in London on Monday.
