George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the latter remembered today as the Queen Mother) toured Canada in May and June 1939, in order to emphasise Canada's status as a Dominion, independent of the United Kingdom, in the build–up to World War II. They then spent five days in the United States, accompanied by the Canadian prime minister, William Mackenzie King, by way of reinforcing the point that they were making a state visit to the United States as the King and Queen of Canada.
© Haydn Thompson 2019