Way Back When: A Queen’s Privileges

Queen Elizabeth of Belgium bravely flew in the Lockheeds’ seaplane on her visit to SB. Image: courtesy of John Woodward

By Betsy J. Green

King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium visited Santa Barbara in October 1919. (Check out last week’s post if you missed that.) While they were here, the queen managed to pull off a couple of royal firsts. The couple visited the Santa Barbara Mission, where she was said to be the first woman allowed to enter the sacred garden.

She was also the first queen to go aloft with the Lockheeds in their seaplane and had her picture taken to prove it.

Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1918 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the fifth book in her series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Learn more at betsyjgreen.com​