The Queen and Prince Philip on the balcony of the Masonic Hotel in January 1954. Photo / Supplied
The Queen and Prince Philip on the balcony of the Masonic Hotel in January 1954. Photo / Supplied
Landmark Napier hotel the Art Deco Masonic still gets regular requests from guests wanting to sleep in the room in which the Queen and Prince Philip slept more than 67 years ago.
It was on the night of January 6-7, 1954, a popular photograph showing them waving to the crowd from the first floor.
Thousands had gathered on Marine Parade and the seafront below, where a pohutukawa now dominates the landscapes, and standing almost exactly where the Prince had been standing, hotel owner Craig Hay says: "It wouldn't have been as big as it is now, of course."
The Royal Suite nearby remains of the same dimensions, refurbished several times but retaining some of the nostalgic presence, although it was occupied by guests today and unavailable for inspection
Around the world, the life of the Prince is, however, wide open to inspection, and memories following his death at the weekend, aged 99.
Hay said, of the six suites and apartments among the two storey hotel's 45 rooms, the Royal Suite is the most popular, with many inquiries on its availability.
For some guests, he expects it's novelty, but there will be those who make a point of staying where the red carpet once rolled.
"It's hard to know what piques their interest," he says.
The Duke of Edinburgh is greeted by cheering children at Waipukurau, during the Royal visit to New Zealand in 1953. Photo / Getty Images
The Royal couple's tour from December 23, 1953-January 31, 1954, just six months after the Queen's succession to the throne, was the first of New Zealand by a reigning British Monarch.
After arriving by air from Gisborne, the couple's major engagement was at McLean Park where an estimated 10,000 people had gathered. Another picture shows shearing legend Godfrey Bowen showing the Prince a hand piece with which the shearer had given a display for the couple at the park.
The Royals left Napier by train for Palmerston North, with stops at Waipawa, Waipukurau and Dannevirke, among the 46 towns and cities included in the six-week tour.
The next was, however, for just nine hours on February 10, 1963, between the berthing and departure of the Royal Yacht Britannia, four days into a February 6-18 tour.
The Prince was not with the Queen on her last visit to Hawke's Bay on February 7, 1990, for the opening of Wairoa's new State Highway 2 bridge, which replaced the bridge destroyed in Cyclone Bola less than two years earlier. She visited Napier briefly in the same visit.
On social media, several people have recalled the stops in Central Hawke's Bay.
Vivienne Peters (nee Schofield), now of Papamoa, commented: "I remember this day so well, the Queen of England visiting Waipukurau. We were in the Girl Guides and our friend Lorraine Hastings presented a bouquet of flowers to the Queen.
"We were all 13 years old, a very, very long time ago."
The Masonic Hotel has a history dating back to 1861, the three buildings on the site all having had a taste of royalty, including in 1927 when guests included the Queen's parents, the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).
