'She just glowed': Maritimers remember moments with Queen Elizabeth II

In her 70 years as Queen, Elizabeth II met a lot of people, particularly during her royal visits to Canada.

“She said when she became queen ‘I will always serve the people,’” recalls former Dartmouth mayor, Gloria McCluskey.

And that is what she did. Queen Elizabeth II visited Canada more than any other country in the Commonwealth — Nova Scotia was on her itinerary five times.

“It is a real pleasure for us to be here again in Nova Scotia, where members of my family have always been made so welcome,” said the Queen during her Royal Tour in 1976.

McCluskey got to spend nearly an hour with the monarch during the tour.

“Forty-five minutes on the Dartmouth waterfront — imagine, 45 minutes with the Queen,” McCluskey says.

And what does she remember most?

“I think what stood out about her is that she made people feel comfortable, certainly she made me feel comfortable,” she says. “She was so pleasant with everybody. And it wasn’t a fake smile. She genuinely wanted to be there.”

Shirley Robb was a photographer for three of the royal visits.

“She would enter a room and she would just be glowing, everything, everywhere she went she just glowed so it was easy to get pictures, people glowed around her,” Robb says.

By the third visit in 2010, Robb and the Queen would exchange acknowledgments.

“For her, it was a nod and a smile and then she was so relaxed when she got to know you,” says Robb.

Former Defence Minister Peter MacKay met Queen Elizabeth II on a number of occasions during his time in politics. He says she had a special place in her heart for those who served in the military.

“She had a certain aura about her, to state the obvious, but also humility,” MacKay says. “I saw her on many occasions stop and interact, in particular with veterans. She loved to speak to veterans, she would recognize the insignia on their uniforms, their medals.”

Even those who didn’t meet Queen Elizabeth II directly have memories of her reign.

Andrew Pickett was a student at a college in England in 1996 when the Queen came for a visit. He was asked to sing by the band, however, protocol dictated no singing while she was meeting those in attendance. Pickett wasn’t going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“And then the door opens, the whole room falls silent, my heart is racing hundreds of beats a minute. And I just do my best to sing this song and it comes out quieter than usual because I am holding my breath. And it just swells out and she walks in and just this kind of moment you know?” he says.

These are the stories of just four people. Queen Elizabeth II touched thousands of others during her time as the longest reigning monarch in British history.