Our Flag of Redonda was hoisted on 26th October 2009, celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of William L Gates as Leo, fifth King of Redonda.
To mark this occasion King Leo and Queen Josephine had visited, earlier in the year, the Leeward Isles in the Caribbean. Having flown to Barbados, they joined the ship “Spirit of Adventure”, on the cruise entitled “In the Wake of Great Explorers”.
They visited the islands of Dominica, St Barthelemy, Tortola and Virgin Gorda, before sailing to Nevis and catching their first glimpse of Redonda. King Leo duly signed the visitors book on Nevis at Hamilton House Museum, before stopping at the Nelson Museum. This tour round the different islands gave an insight into the lives of local people. King Leo then spent an hour viewing Redonda, as he cruised from Nevis to Antigua, and gained a further overhead sighting of the guano-covered island of Redonda, when taking a helicopter trip over Montserrat. His Majesty then returned to England, crossing the Atlantic by ship, (a journey previously encountered by the young MP Shiel in the 19th century), before flying home from Tenerife. Since twice having postponed the visit, this was a truly memorable trip to the Caribbean for King Leo and Queen Josephine.
Floreat Redonda!
