Following her death last week, hilarious film of eager students greeting Queen Elizabeth II during her tour of Australia 22 years ago resurfaced.
The late Queen visited Busselton in the southwest of Western Australia on the final day of her 16-day Royal trip of Australia with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, in early 2000.
The visit featured a trip at Vasse Primary School, where many kindergarten students failed to recognise the Queen during a tour of their classroom, and another thought she was just someone’s grandmother.
Brian Devereux had only been appointed principal of the school a few weeks prior when he received a call from his supervisor asking if he would be able to entertain a very important guest.
During her 2000 Royal Tour of Australia, the Queen was perplexed by an inquisitive student at Vasse Primary School in Western Australia.
‘I said, Oh, yes. Who were you thinking of? He told as much to ABC last week.
He stated, “Elizabeth Windsor,” to which I responded, “Oh, is she in education or something?”
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After a little pause, my supervisor asked me, “Brian, does the term Her Majesty or Queen ring any special bells for you?” I said, are you joking? ‘
The catastrophic classroom scenes that erupted in front of the media are still clear in his mind.
“When I brought Queen Elizabeth into my pre-primary classes of five-year-olds, a student in the front row exclaimed, “Whose grandmother is that?”
Mr. Devereux reflected.
The Daily Telegraph in London sent me an article stating that education in Australia was weak since these students at this particular school did not recognize Her Majesty.
Mr. Devereux retired in 2015 after 15 years as the school’s principal.
Earlier this year, footage of the legendary classroom visit resurfaced and quickly went viral after UK production company Independent Television News uploaded it to TikTok.
In contrast to her husband’s visit to a year seven computing class, where he received a technical lesson from children, the Queen’s visit to a pre-kindergarten class did not proceed as planned.
Which is your name?
Sol Masters, an inquisitive youth, may be heard asking her this.
She was slightly bewildered and chose to disregard the query until the persistent guy asked her name again.
Jake’s perplexity was provoked by the Queen’s visit to his classroom (pictured)
Another child named Jake appeared perplexed when the Queen greeted him and examined his artwork.
The video also shows four-year-old Jacinta Haywood falling into tears and being consoled by a teacher after receiving a blow to the head from a sitting classmate, Sol.
The incident that occurred in front of the media generated headlines worldwide, notably on BBC and CNN.
The teachers had spent weeks preparing the students for the special visit so that they would be on their best behavior. Sol, though, was away for the majority of the preparations.
Teacher Sue Merry told the media at the time, “He’s been here for only two days.”
We have been telling the children about the Queen, but he has been oblivious.
After the old film reappeared this year, amused TikTok users defended Sol and criticized the Queen’s icy attitude.
Why couldn’t she simply identify herself? They are, after all, children, commented one.
Someone else remarked, “For someone with four children, she has no understanding how to communicate with children.”
Other viewers drew analogies between how Princess Diana and Kate Middleton would have handled the issue in vastly different ways.
What would have Diana done? One user said, “Got down to their eye level and said, ‘Hello, my name is Diana.’ Her silence is deafening.”
Someone more remarked, “Can you imagine Diana or Kate neglecting them?”
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The teachers had spent weeks preparing the students for the Queen’s arrival.
The late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip spent the final full day of their Royal Tour in Busselton in the south-west of Western Australia. During a municipal reception, they are photographed inspecting Aboriginal food gathering implements.
The unpleasant interaction was not the only noteworthy event that occurred during the royal visit to Vasse Primary School.
Later, the pair enjoyed a performance by the school choir during a special assembly; however, two boys in the audience were entangled in a fight, prompting staff to interfere.
The incident amused Prince Philip, according to BBC reports.
The visit occurred at the time of the Royals’ 16-day Australian tour, which included stops in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.
The tour occurred only a few months after Australians rejected becoming a republic.
It was the Queen’s second visit to the school, 46 years after her initial visit during her maiden Australian tour in 1954.
When Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip landed at Busselton Airport, they were met by a large group of people, including students.
The royal couple also inspected world-class produce from the region, toured the Waljin Aboriginal interpretive garden, and ate a lunch prepared by TAFE students with local leaders.
The Royals then traveled north to Perth, where they attended a civic reception at Government House on their final night in Australia.
The Queen told the audience, “Prince Philip and I have received the warmest of welcomes from everyone we have met, regardless of their beliefs and ambitions for the future of this country.”
This has been the case for people of all backgrounds, ages, and walks of life.
The Queen visited Australia a further three times in 2002, 2006, and 2011.
Western Australia was the final state she visited during her final trip of Australia.
Premier Mark McGowan stated that Her Majesty attended both the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference and the Big Aussie Barbecue.
Western Australia has an extremely high proportion of British-born nationals. About one in nine of our residents were born there, or approximately 300,000 West Australians. Many will be severely affected by the passing of her Majesty.
As a result of the passing of the Queen a week ago, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared September 22 a national holiday.
Next Monday, her funeral will be place at Westminster Abbey in London.
Seven times throughout her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II visited Western Australia. She is shown in Perth on the last day of her 2000 Royal Tour.