St George-in-the-Pines is an Anglican church in Banff, Alberta, called "one of Banff's oldest places of worship". The building was designed in the Gothic Revival style by English architect FP Oakley [1] and the cornerstone was laid by Governor General the Lord Stanley of Preston in 1889. [2]
The first Anglican service in Banff took place in a log cabin on Bear Street in 1887 before holding worship in a tent on the site of the present-day church as it was being built. Clergy also led evening service at the Banff Springs Hotel. The chancel was complete by 1897 [1] and the Bishop of Calgary, the Right Reverend William Pinkham, consecrated St George's in June 1920, [3] before the tower and spire were finished in 1926. [1]
Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York (laterly King George V), and his wife, Princess Mary, Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future Queen Mary), worshipped at St George-in-the-Pines in 1901. Three of their sons attended service at the church: Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), together with Prince George in 1927, [1] and King George VI with his consort, Queen Elizabeth, in 1939. The pew in which the latter two sat is marked with a plaque. [2] George and Elizabeth's daughter, Elizabeth II, the former Queen of Canada, also worshipped at St George-in-the-Pines. [4]
In 2012, the church sought designation as a municipal historic resource and received approval on 30 July of the same year. [1] [4] It was also included as a point of interest along the Commonwealth Walkway, which was opened on 17 September 2017. [5]
George-in-the-Pines possesses 50 stained glass windows depicting local flora and fauna, as well as 11 bells by John Taylor & Co, which were shipped from Loughborough, England, to Banff via the Panama Canal. [1] They can be played by one person. St George-in-the-Pines was the first of only two churches in Canada to possess a set from that manufacturer. [2]
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death on 6 February 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first Head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.
Charles III is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
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Crathie Kirk is a small Church of Scotland parish church in the Scottish village of Crathie, best known for being the regular place of worship of the British royal family when they are in residence at the nearby Balmoral Castle.
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By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, Canada's monarchy operates in Alberta as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within Alberta's jurisdiction is referred to as the Crown in Right of Alberta, His Majesty in Right of Alberta, or The King in Right of Alberta. The Constitution Act, 1867, however, leaves many royal duties in Alberta specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy.
St George's Church, Esher is a Grade I listed Anglican church in Esher, Surrey, England. Built in the 16th century, it was Esher's parish church for 300 years, though later worshippers included Queen Victoria. However, by the mid-19th century the building was deemed too small for the growing population, and was replaced by Christ Church, built nearby on Esher Green in 1853/4. St George's was not therefore subjected to Victorian ‘improvements’, and its Tudor origins remain evident. It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states over the course of her lifetime and remained the monarch of 15 realms by the time of her death. Her reign of over 70 years is the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female head of state in history.
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar, and the Chapel of the Order of the Garter. St George's Chapel was founded in the 14th century by King Edward III and extensively enlarged in the late 15th century. It is located in the Lower Ward of the castle.
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The 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was undertaken in the build-up to the Second World War as a way to shore up sympathy for Britain, should war break out in Europe. The tour lasted from 17 May to 15 June, covering every province, the Dominion of Newfoundland, and a few days in the United States. It demonstrated and cemented Canada's allegiance to the Crown and its status as the senior Dominion of the British Empire. There had been previous royal tours in Canada, but, the 1939 tour was unprecedented, both due to the fact that it was the first visit to North America by the reigning monarch, as well as in its scope. The tour was an enormous event, attracting huge crowds at each new city.
On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at the age of 96. Her death was publicly announced at 18:30. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.