Houston remembers late Queen Elizabeth II's 1991 visit: 'It was huge'

In light of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing on Thursday at the age of 96, the City of Houston is reflecting on her visit to the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the U.S. in 1991. 

Though Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was just an infant at the time of the royal visit, the monarch’s impact on the world isn’t lost on her. 

“My heart is with the British people as we remember Queen Elizabeth II and cherish the values of democracy that bind our nations,” Hidalgo said in a tweet.

Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were in Houston on May 22, 1991 as part of a 12-day U.S. tour.

Houston was the tour’s penultimate stop, with the couple having visited Austin, San Antonio and Dallas, KPRC reported.

According to the station, it was Queen Elizabeth II’s first time in the Lone Star State.

On the royal couple’s Bayou City itinerary were Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston’s Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, and a school in La Marque, per Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

Sam Fontaine recounted the royals’ visit to Antioch, adding he stood mere feet from them, KHOU reported.

"It was huge," Fontaine said, according to the station. "Had people who couldn’t get in the church.”

Church pastor Reverend Lou McElroy pointed out that Queen Elizabeth II wanted to listen to the choir.

"As the story goes, she was visiting Houston and wanted to hear some gospel music," McElroy told KHOU. "Some good southern gospel music.”

The clergyman added that the famously stoic monarch was moved by what she heard.

KPRC reported that then-Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire presented Queen Elizabeth II with a key to the city.

Before the queen departed Houston for Louisville, Kentucky, she and Prince Philip were treated to a private dinner at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the station reported.

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning British monarch at the time of her death. She ascended to the throne in 1952 following the passing of her father, King George VI.