Queen Elizabeth II made history in Boston in 1976
BOSTON - Historians say it is deeply symbolic that Queen Elizabeth II chose to stand on the balcony of the Old State House when she greeted Bostonians for a bicentennial visit in 1976. Two hundred years earlier, the Declaration of Independence was read from the very same balcony.
"After that hostility, those two nations are able to come back and have what's now referred to as 'the special relationship,' and that special relationship was really embodied in that visit in 1976," said Matthew Wilding, a historian with Revolutionary Spaces.
"We have been very moved by the welcome we have received in this city, particularly since it was here, in Boston, that it all began," said the queen back then.
Today, it's a stop on a walking tour where a couple from London stood Thursday, after news broke of the queen's death. "I served in the British Army for 30 years," said Jason West, who was choked up. "I'm pretty upset by it."
His wife was also emotional. "She's a remarkable, remarkable human being," she said. "Nothing should be allowed to undermine that legacy."
A plaque outside the Old State House commemorates the Queen's visit. Historians are now gathering photos and mementos from the historic visit to display inside the building in the coming days.
