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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
'Well, Kathleen, we meet again'
Queen got to know 'Toba protocol chief
Brown visited Buckingham Palace to receive the Royal Victorian Order medal in 1996.
If anyone knows how to act for the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's ascension to the throne, it's Winnipeg's Kathleen Brown.
As Manitoba's first protocol officer in 1982, she met the Queen on a number of occasions.
Kathleen Brown, who became the province's first protocol officer in 1982, holds an autographed photo given to her by the Queen inside her home at the Sturgeon Creek Retirement Residence. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
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"They really don't prepare you for protocol," laughed Brown, 83.
She and her husband, Douglas Brown, a senior aide-de-camp, worked for five Manitoba lieutenant-governors. She learned protocol as she went.
"I formed the protocol office in 1982," said Brown, who was named Manitoba's chief of protocol in 1988 and later trained her replacement, Dwight MacAulay.
Keeping her cool and following protocol wasn't always easy, recalled Brown, who has co-ordinated nine Manitoba visits for members of the Royal Family, along with presidents, prime ministers and heads of state from around the world.
When Liberal prime minister John Turner asked the Queen to delay her visit in 1984 until after the summer federal election, there were some tense moments, Brown recalled.
"Venues had to be changed," Brown said. They couldn't rely on summer walkabouts with October weather.
"We lucked out," she said. "It was quite nice the four days when she was here," said the mother of four, who lives at the Sturgeon Creek Retirement Residence.
"She was just great in '84," said Brown. "I had her for four days and you really got to know her." "She's just a wonderful woman. She's very gracious. A real lady."
In 1996, Brown met the Queen again, when the Winnipegger was presented with the Royal Victorian Order medal at Buckingham Palace.
"Most chiefs of protocol, at some time during their tenure in the protocol office, receive it," said Brown. The Royal Victorian Order, established in 1896 by Queen Victoria, is conferred for extraordinary, important or personal service to the sovereign or members of the Royal Family.
The Queen, who takes part in so many ceremonies and meets so many people, had a few words for her, Brown recalled: ' "Well, Kathleen, we meet again.' "
They'd met several times since 1970 when the Queen and her family came for Manitoba's centennial celebrations.
And they've stayed in touch, sort of. Brown has returned to London to St. George's Chapel, where the Queen holds a service every four years for members of the Royal Victorian Order. Brown went last April.
"They invited us back to Windsor Castle for a huge reception with people from all over the world," said Brown, "some we'd looked after on Royal visits."
The Queen was a role model, said Brown.
"At the time of her coronation, I was just growing up," said Brown. "We read about it in the paper."
Her family had a framed photo of the Queen in their home, she said.
"We did follow the monarchy. It was part of our growing-up process," she said.
"I never dreamed I'd be in this job."
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 6, 2012 A3
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