From the Archive

FROM THE ARCHIVE: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip visit Bay Area in 1983

Take a look back at ABC7's coverage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's tour through the Bay Area.

ByBrandon Behle and Justin Mendoza KGO logo

Queen Elizabeth II visits Bay Area in March 1983

In honor of the queen's 95th birthday this past week, in this edition of "From The Archive," we take a look back at Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's tour through the Bay Area in 1983.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Did you know (or remember when) the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain visited the Bay Area nearly 40 years ago?

In a rare U.S. visit by the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip embarked on a multi-day tour through the west coast, which included several stops in the Bay Area arriving on March 2, 1983.

The queen was accompanied by then First Lady, the late Nancy Reagan down the steps of the plane at San Francisco International Airport. They were greeted by former San Francisco Mayor and (now U.S. Senator) Dianne Feinstein.

The queen and prince had a full schedule that week.

The royal couple visited Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on a rainy day kicking off their Bay Area tour.

"This kind of weather happens in California every few centuries," joked Mayor Feinstein. She presented the queen a bronze plaque and working key to Mission Dolores.

Actress and singer, the late Mary Martin, sung the popular Broadway and film tune, "Getting to Know You" at the event. Former KGO-TV reporter Suzanne Saunders said Martin remembered Queen Elizabeth when she was a princess, a queen, then a mother and grandmother.

The legendary Tony Bennett sang his classic, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." The late Robin Williams was also in attendance.

That afternoon, the royal couple had a private lunch at Stanford University, then toured Hewlett Packard.

Later that night, the queen and prince had a private dinner at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, where attendees included both President Ronald Reagan and wife, Nancy.

They also went for drinks at Trader Vic's in the city, where a few dozen protesters appeared outside.

The royals continued their west coast trip going north to Sacramento and Yosemite.

The Bay Area trip ended with a "Queen's Day" where spectators waved goodbye to the royal couple as they boarded the Britannia.

The queen's sister, the late Princess Margaret, also visited San Francisco back in 1965. (video below)

WATCH: LOOKBACK: Meghan and Harry not the 1st Royals drawn to North America -- Princess Margaret's 1965 trip to SF

As featured in the Netflix show, "The Crown," Princess Margaret, the late sister of Queen Elizabeth II, took San Francisco by storm in 1965. We dug through the ABC7 archive to find film from the Princess' visit.

In the wake of the Queen's passing at age 96, in this edition of "From The Archive," we take a look back at Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's tour through the Bay Area in the video player above.

You can watch more of their visit on the "ABC7 Bay Area" app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Android TV in the "From The Archive" section.