Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images
Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands were welcomed by American President Harry S Truman in Washington DC on this day in 1952, at the start of a four-week Tour of the United State and Canada, where Queen Juliana had spent much of the Second World War. The Queen (wearing the Dutch Diamond Stars and House Diamond Stomacher) and Prince were pictured at the Dinner hosted by the Secretary of State at the Anderson House while there are no pictures of the State Dinner at the Carlton Hotel in Washington, though the speeches survive:
Mr. President:
I thank you very much for your very cordial and warmhearted words of welcome.
Some of the things you referred to, you spoke directly to my heart. I am going to speak about them tomorrow in Congress, but I want you to know how ranch response there is for what you say.
And then I want to say–well, we wanted to come and you wanted us to come. The wish was there on both sides. And you even wanted us to come to the White House in its new state. I cannot think of a greater kindness for our country; it is symbolic of the sign of friendship between the two nations.
One could write a most interesting story about that friendship, with possibly minor ups and downs. But it is always basically there, and that will remain so, I am absolutely sure. It can be of great service to the better understanding of each other, both in the Atlantic and in the world community.
I know, Mr. President, that you are a great friend of humanity. Your recent proposals to Congress to alleviate the suffering of the refugees and the problem of overpopulation in Europe are a new proof of it.
You head a great country of very human and kindhearted people, who have given us invaluable support during and after the war. They even liberated a part of our country. The graves of your soldiers there are shrines for us. Your Government and your people have put us on the arduous path to prosperity again. We are full of gratitude to the American people. And you are the representative of all this.
May I raise my glass in your honor, Mr. President, and in Mrs. Truman’s, our kind host and hostess in America, and to the everlasting friendship of our two countries.”
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard were next in Hyde Park, New York, to stay with the Roosevelt Family for Palm Sunday, taking part in the Hudson River City’s tercentenary celebration. Later, the Royal Couple made a joyous entry into New York City, the highlight of the visit being the Dinner hosted by the Netherlands-America Foundation in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where the Queen (wearing the Diamond Trellis Necklace as a Tiara, Sapphire Necklace, and Queen Emma’s Sapphire Bow Brooch) and Prince were joined by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard spent Easter on Sea Island, Georgia before continuing the Tour in Detroit. Later, the Queen and Prince were in California, where they attended Gala Dinners in San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as visiting Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The trellis necklace can be worn as a bandeau.. interesting. I hope to see max do that.