Escorted by Mayor Kevin White, Queen Elizabeth II visited Boston on July 11, 1976, as part of her tour of the U.S. for the nation's bicentennial. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died Thursday at 96, ending her seven-decade reign.
Flashback: The queen came to Boston and greeted onlookers from the balcony of the old State House in July 1976, part of her tour of the then-200-year-old United States.
- Her father, King George VI, was the first British monarch to visit the U.S. in 1939, but Elizabeth was the first to come to Boston, the starting point of the war that separated the former colony from the crown.
The visit was not without turmoil, as protesters crowded into City Hall Plaza to demonstrate against the U.K.'s policies during the Troubles in Ireland while the Queen had lunch with Mayor Kevin White at City Hall.
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