The Royal Visit – Durban, March 1947: Official Souvenir Programme

An increasingly scarce and highly collectable piece of Durban and South African royal history, The Royal Visit – Durban, March 1947 is the official souvenir programme produced to commemorate the visit of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to Durban during the historic 1947 Royal Tour of Southern Africa.

Issued by the Royal Tour 1947 Durban and Coast Regional Committee on behalf of the Durban City Council, The Royal Visit commemorates the Royal Family’s visit to Durban from 20 to 23 March 1947. The tour was particularly significant as it was Princess Elizabeth’s first overseas tour; only five years later she would succeed her father as Queen Elizabeth II.

The Royal Visit is attractively produced, with decorative period typography, the Royal cypher and heraldic motifs throughout. Among its contents is the formal Loyal Address to His Most Excellent Majesty George the Sixth, dated Durban, 20 March 1947, and signed in print by Durban Mayor R. Ellis Brown and Town Clerk John McIntyre. It also records the extensive organising committees and arrangements surrounding the Durban visit.

An original historical souvenir with appeal to collectors of South African Royal Visits, British Royal memorabilia, Durban history, Nataliana, Africana and twentieth-century South African ephemera.

Condition – Fair

The original illustrated card wrappers remain present with general age-related handling and edge wear, light creasing and some surface marking. Noticeable foxing and age-toning are present, particularly to the inner covers and some page margins. The binding remains intact, although showing age and wear at the spine. A small green sticker is present on the upper front cover.