Above we have a great photo taken at Miraflores Locks as the queen and Prince Philip walk over the lock gate in route to the control house.  The gentleman in front of the queen and prince is Governor of the Canal Zone Brigadier General JS Seabold  As you can see, work has stopped at the locks for the moment while everyone stands around and watches this historic moment.

Below in the middle photo,  everyone is in the control house.  L-R  Control House Operator LB Barlow, Prince Philip, the queen and Governor Seabold.

Bottom photo is the prince and the queen now aboard the S.S. Gothic getting ready to depart the locks and get underway.  I found an exciting part of this photo when I first saw it is the camera on the railing.  In the movie series "The Crown" the young Princess Elizabeth at the time was given this movie camera by her father King George VI.  She and Prince Philip took thousands of yards of film throughout the years and are all in her personal library.  Some of the films were release on her 90th birthday and many in the family had never seen before.  I would love to see the footage that they took while in Panama.

Speaking of the movie series "The Crown", I started watching it on Netflix and have watched ever episode in Session 1 and 2.  Now I am waiting for Session 3 to be released.  If you have the time and interest, it is one of those series that grows on you and cannot stop watching!

Here is an article in the Panama Canal Review from December 4, 1953 (click here)

Moving on next week.