ALL eyes were on the Princess of Wales as she and her husband toured the site of the Glasgow Garden Festival on April 29, 1988. At one point the royal couple boarded a tram (pictured), and thousands of people thronged the riverside for a glimpse of them - and Diana in particular.
The restored old tram was one of five that ran between the east market and the Bell’s Bridge throughout the festival, which occupied a 100-acre site.
The royal opening of the festival was a spectacular and noisy affair, especially for the Princess. As a fireworks display began she clamped her hands over her ears, but Glasgow’s Lord Provost Robert Gray, seated behind her, had a word of sympathy for her, which in turn made her smile.
The Princess - “conscious perhaps of the unpredictable Scottish weather,” observed The Herald - had opted for a simple full-length woollen coat of bright peacock blue and a wide-brimmed matching hat with black velvet trim.
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Herald DiaryIn his speech Prince Charles adopted a mock-Scottish accent in order to read several lines from a folk song by Adam McNaughtan; the first verse asked, ‘Where is the Glasgow where I used to stay, with white wally closes done up with pipe clay?’
He went on: “I hope that the many families who visit Glasgow will be able to see what can be achieved ... This garden festival has to be applauded, but I hope that its spirit and aspiration will live on to some extent in the buildings and environment which follow it.”
Later, the royals visited Glasgow Cathedral, where Charles laid the foundation stone for a visitor centre. The Princess was presented with a bouquet of flowers by a Drumchapel man, whom she remembered from her visit to Yarrow’s shipyard in 1985.
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