Queen of Kenya
{{Short description|Elizabeth II's reign in Kenya from 1963 to 1964}}
{{Infobox former monarchy
| royal_title = Queen
| realm = Kenya
| border =
| coatofarms = Coat of arms of Kenya (Official).svg
| coatofarmssize = 120px
| coatofarmscaption = Coat of arms of Kenya
| image = Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg
| caption = Elizabeth II
| style = Her Majesty
| began = 12 December 1963
| ended = 12 December 1964
}}
Elizabeth II was Queen of Kenya from 1963 to 1964, when Kenya was an independent sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy. She was also the sovereign of the other Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. Her roles as the Kenyan head of state were delegated to the governor-general of Kenya.
History
The Kenya Independence Act 1963 transformed the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya into an independent sovereign state, with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state and Queen of Kenya. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, represented the Queen of Kenya at the independence celebrations.{{citation|title=Jomo Kenyatta|isbn=9780853403326|year=1975|author=Julian Friedmann|page=83|publisher=Wayland}} The Duke opened the first session of the Kenyan Parliament, on behalf of the Queen, by delivering the speech from the throne on 13 December 1963.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NqwDAAAAMAAJ|page=75|title=Commonwealth Survey: Volume 10|year=1964|publisher=Central Office of Information}}
The Queen's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Kenya, her representative in Kenya, who was appointed by the Queen on the advice of her Kenyan Prime Minister.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HMsAAAAYAAJ|title=Area Handbook for Kenya|page=189|publisher=Department of Defense, Department of the Army|author=Irving Kaplan|year=1976}}{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVuz6fHl2pwC|page=139|title=Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard)|date=7 June 1963|publisher=Government of Kenya}} Malcolm MacDonald was governor-general throughout. All bills required Royal assent.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hGukWPR2e4C|page=5|title=Basic Data on the Economy of Kenya|publisher=Department of Commerce, Bureau of International Commerce|author=Robert L. Ware|year=1965}} All executive powers of Kenya were vested in the monarch, but were mostly exercised by the governor-general on her behalf.{{citation|isbn=9789004389892|year=2019|author=Christopher E. Bailey|publisher=Brill|page=83|title=Counterterrorism Law and Practice in the East African Community}}{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l4dNZG-NfzIC|page=2757|title=Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard)|date=16 November 2000}}
Kenya adopted a new constitution in 1964 which abolished the monarchy and the office of governor-general, and became a republic within the Commonwealth with the president of Kenya as head of state.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ragu4v8r--4C|page=59|title=Prominent African Leaders Since Independence|author=Bridgette Kasuka|date=8 February 2012|isbn=9781470043582}}
Visits
Elizabeth was in Kenya at Treetops Hotel when her father, George VI, died on 6 February 1952 and she became queen. She had arrived in Nairobi on 1 February and had been staying at Sagana Lodge, near Mount Kenya. After the news of her accession, she returned immediately to the United Kingdom via Entebbe Airport.{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2002/DiaryofeventsintheearlylifeofHMTheQueen.aspx|title=Diary of events in the early life of The Queen|date=1 February 2002|type=Press release|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=8 November 2015}} The Mombasa tusks, which compose a monument on Moi Avenue in Mombasa, were initially built to commemorate the Queen's 1952 visit.{{Cite news|last=Ahmed|first=Mohamed|date=7 July 2019|title=Symbolic tusks erected in 1952 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's visit|work=Daily Nation|publisher=Nation Media Group|url=https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/mombasa/symbolic-tusks-erected-in-1952-to-celebrate-queen-elizabeth-s-visit-184146|access-date=10 December 2021|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008110448/https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/mombasa/symbolic-tusks-erected-in-1952-to-celebrate-queen-elizabeth-s-visit-184146|url-status=live}}
After Kenya became a republic, the Queen stopped briefly in the country on 26 March 1972 and 7 October 1991.{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/RoyalVisits/Commonwealthvisitssince1952.aspx|title=Commonwealth visits since 1952|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=8 November 2015}} She undertook a state visit to Kenya 10–14 November 1983, as the guest of President Daniel Arap Moi.{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/RoyalVisits/OutwardStatevisitssince1952.aspx|title=Outward State visits since 1952|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=8 November 2015}}
Royal style and titles
Elizabeth II had the following style and titles in her role as the monarch of Kenya:
- 12 December 1963{{spaced ndash}}10 March 1964: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith{{London Gazette| issue = 39873| date = 26 May 1953| page = 3023| supp = y}}{{cite web|url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/kenya/00_1963_1964_s.php|title= Kenya: Heads of State: 1963-1964|publisher=archontology.org|access-date=22 May 2021}}
- 10 March 1964{{spaced ndash}}12 December 1964: Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Kenya and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the CommonwealthA proclamation affecting the change in royal style and titles is dated 10 Mar 1964 and took effect upon publication as Legal Notice No. 120 in Supplement No. 56 to Kenya Gazette, No. 18, 21 Apr 1964.{{citation|title=Kenya Gazette: Vol. 66, Nos. 1-2|year=1964|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=96OQ5X-LoN0C|pages=454}}
References
{{reflist}}{{Heads of State of Kenya}}{{Commonwealth realms}}
{{Elizabeth II|state=collapsed}}
Category:Heads of state of Kenya
Category:1963 establishments in Kenya
Category:1964 disestablishments in Kenya