Catherine Clark reflects on a special encounter with the Queen in 1987
Posted September 9, 2022 1:17 pm.
Last Updated September 9, 2022 1:32 pm.
Catherine Clark, the daughter of former prime minister Joe Clark, is recalling one encounter with the Queen as a child that has stuck with her for years.
At a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Vancouver in 1987 while her father was secretary of state for foreign affairs, Catherine Clark – 10 at the time – says she had a “lovely” chat with the Queen, who inquired about her interests and even asked her why she wasn’t in school that day.
After that conversation and a few minutes into the cocktail reception, Clark was ready to leave but protocol dictated that she had to stay in the room with everyone else until the Queen departed.
Clark says she waited and waited until suddenly the Queen swung by and asked her what she was still doing at the reception.
Clark told the Queen she was waiting for her to leave first, to which the Queen responded “well, let’s go then shall we?” and the two trotted off together to the elevators where they then parted ways.
Clark notes that children get accustomed to adults often dismissing them, but in the case of the Queen, she showed interest and actively listened, which Clark says she will always remember.
The Queen, who died Thursday, made 22 official visits to Canada after ascending to the throne in 1952, meeting Canadians from across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept.9, 2022.
The Canadian Press