In November 1953 - after the coronation - Queen Elizabeth set out on the most ambitious tour of the Commonwealth ever taken. It lasted almost half a year, covered 43,618 miles and included visits to a dozen countries, from Bermuda and the Coco Islands to New Zealand (where she is pictured, left) and Australia, where the Queen made the traditional royal broadcast from Auckland.

In 1956 the Queen made a state visit to Nigeria, the largest of Britain's African colonies. The trip ended in the capital of Lagos with a spectacular dance of thousands of masked warriors. While in 1957 the Queen was the first British monarch to visit France since Queen Victoria in 1855 and was greeted by rapturous crowds. 

The Queen and Prince Philip returned to North America in June 1959 spent six weeks in Canada, visiting every province and territory, and made a fleeting visit to Chicago. The first seven years of her reign had taken her to all parts of the globe, and her charm had extended farther.

The Queen's State and Commonwealth Visits: 1950s

6 February 1952 Kenya (visiting Sagana Lodge, Kiganjo, where The Queen learned of her Accession)

24 November 1953 Canada (refuelling in Newfoundland)

24-25 November 1953 Bermuda

25-27 November 1953 Jamaica

17-19 December 1953 Fiji

19-20 December 1953 Tonga

23 December 1953 - 30 January 1954 New Zealand

3 February - 1 April 1954 Australia (New South Wales, ACT, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia)

5 April 1954 Cocos Islands

10-21 April 1954 Ceylon

27 April 1954 Aden

28-30 April 1954 Uganda

3-7 May 1954 Malta

10 May 1954 Gibraltar

24-26 June 1955 Norway, visiting King Haakon VII

28 January - 16 February 1956 Nigeria

8-10 June 1956 Sweden, visiting King Gustaf VI1

8-21 February 1957 Portugal, visiting President Craveiro Lopes

8-11 April 1957 France, visiting President René Coty

21-23 May 1957 Denmark, visiting King Frederick IX

12-16 October 1957 Canada (Ontario)

17-21 October 1957 USA, visiting President Eisenhower

25-27 March 1958 The Netherlands, visiting Queen Juliana I

18 June - 1 August 1959 Canada (opening of St. Lawrence Seaway, Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia)

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