Queen of Kenya

Queen of Kenya was a title held by Elizabeth II as the head of state of Kenya from 1963 to 1964. Her full style in Kenya was Queen of Kenya and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.^[1] She was also the Sovereign of the other Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. Her roles as Kenyan head of state were delegated to the Governor-General of Kenya.

The Kenya Independence Act 1963 transformed the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya into an independent sovereign state with Elizabeth II as its queen. Kenya adopted a new constitution in 1964 which abolished the monarchy and the office of governor-general, and Kenya became a republic within the Commonwealth, with the President of Kenya as head of state.

The Queen was in Kenya at Treetops Hotel on 6 February 1952, when she became Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth on the death of her father, George VI. She had arrived in Nairobi on 1 February and had been staying at Sagana Lodge, near Mount Kenya. After the news of her accession, she returned immediately to the United Kingdom via Entebbe Airport.^[2] After Kenya's independence, she stopped briefly in the country on 26 March 1972 and 7 October 1991.^[3] She undertook a state visit to Kenya 10–14 November 1983, as the guest of President Daniel Arap Moi.^[4]

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