The relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Kenya, where she has visited twice, is special. Indeed, it was in Kenya that Elizabeth’s life changed: the princess was enjoying a unique experience of observing wildlife from the tops of the trees, in the heart of the Aberdare massif, when the death of her father was announced. The news fell on the morning of February 6, 1952. King George VI had succumbed overnight to lung cancer at Sandringham House, one of the royal family’s residences in eastern England. The information will take another day to cross the thick forest of Aberdare, 7,000 kilometers away, and reach his 25-year-old daughter, heiress to the throne.
Princess Elizabeth was visiting Kenya, then a British colony, as part of a Commonwealth tour, in place of her ailing father. With her husband, Prince Philip, she had granted herself a night away from her official obligations to stay at Treetops, a one-of-a-kind wildlife observation pavilion, perched on top of a giant fig tree. This episode was evoked by a formula attributed to Jim Corbett, the naturalist and hunter who accompanied the royal couple to Treetops, in the guestbook of the establishment.
“For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl once ascended a tree as a princess and, after having what she described as her most thrilling experience, she descended from the tree. the next day being queen”
Jim Corbett, naturalistGolden Book
In reality, Elizabeth didn’t hear the news until after she left Treetops, but history has remembered that it was here that a princess became queen. Opened in 1932, Treetops was a unique place, perched in the foliage of a fig tree overlooking a waterhole, which offered wealthy visitors stunning views of wildlife. Elizabeth and Philip made a handwritten count of the animals seen on a framed sheet of paper inside Treetops: herds of elephants − “about 40” in a single sighting −baboons, waterbucks, “rhinos all night”can we read in particular in this inventory dated 5−February 6, 1952.
An aide to the royal couple, responsible for sending a letter of thanks to hotel owners, described a “great experience of observing wildlife in its natural environment” and a day and a night “full of interest”. “I am quite certain this is one of the most wonderful experiences the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh has ever had.“, can we read in this letter dated February 8, 1952, also framed at Treetops.
Two years after that visit, Treetops burned down in what was said to be an arson attack by anti-colonial Mau Mau rebels. A new, much larger establishment was built on stilts on the other side of the waterhole, where it still stands today. Regardless, the royal visit, and the legend that accompanies it, made Treetops go down in history. Guests could stay in the Princess Elizabeth suite, browse royal memorabilia in the dining room, or gaze at a portrait of the Queen framed by the two tusks of an elephant shot in the 1960s. Elizabeth and Philip returned there in 1983, in more formal outfits: knee-length dress for the queen, blazer and tie for the prince.
Treetops closed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and has not reopened since. Two years later, after the death of his most illustrious client, he now appears as a distant vestige of a bygone era.
Kenya’s new President-elect William Ruto paid tribute to the Queen who passed away on September 8 at the age of 96, hailing her leadership “admirable” within the Commonwealth. “May his memory continue to inspire us. We join the Commonwealth in mourning and offer our condolences to the Royal Family and to the United Kingdom,” said William Ruto.
I have received news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and I send condolences to the people of the United Kingdom.
The queen’s leadership of the Commonwealth for the past seven decades is admirable. pic.twitter.com/PT3Fv6ws7u
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) September 8, 2022
“She has steered the evolution of the institution towards a forum for effective multilateral action,” said William Ruto on Twitter, describing the block as a testament to “historical heritage” of the Queen.