1988 royal tour of California
British royal visit to the United States
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (then Andrew, Duke of York), and Sarah Ferguson (then Sarah, Duchess of York), toured the U.S. state of California between 26 February and 7 March 1988.
The couple's impending visit was announced at a news conference and breakfast at The Biltmore Los Angeles hotel attended by actors Michael York, Stacy Keach and Judd Hirsch in January 1988. The Yorks stayed on board the British royal yacht HMY Britannia docked at Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Long Beach during their stay in California.
Schedule
Andrew and Sarah made more than 40 public appearances during their 10-day tour of Southern California to promote British goods and culture in their role as patrons of the UK/LA Festival. The couple arrived in Los Angeles on 29 February to "considerable publicity and fanfare" according to United Press International (UPI). Sarah was pregnant with Princess Beatrice during the tour. Sarah was described as "ebullient" by UPI, which noted that she provided the "only unexpected glimpses of royal personality". The trip was also described as "relatively uneventful". The couple visited the University of California, Los Angeles where "female students shrieked [Andrew's] name". The couple attended a church service at St.
“1988 royal tour of California” enters the record as british royal visit to the United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what royal, tour and California can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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