King Charles III visited Rhode Island once. Not many people got the chance to see him.
The countdown is on until King Charles III is coronated on May 6.
To mark the occasion, The Providence Journal looked through our archives to see what we could find out about the royal's history with the Ocean State. As it turns out, he did come for one visit — albeit a brief one — more than two decades ago.
When did King Charles III come to Rhode Island?
Charles visited Rhode Island, specifically Newport, in the summer of 1996.
It was, according to Providence Journal archives, a beautiful summer day on July 19, with calm seas and perfect for sailing on Narragansett Bay, which is how Charles spent most of his brief stop. He cruised aboard the Shamrock V, a former America’s Cup entry, while talking to 30 VIPs on board.
"At least on this occasion I wasn't told — as I usually am everywhere else I go in the world — that I should have been here yesterday or last week," he said. "I promise you, I am the subject of Murphy's law, because usually I'm told because it's thick fog or raining when I'm here that it would have been wonderful if I had been there yesterday. So, I obviously got here on the right day today."
He didn’t come just to sail, as nice as that might have been.
The main event was a 20-minute speech at a 250-guest, $500-a-ticket fundraiser for the Mary Rose Trust. The trust runs a museum and cares for artifacts from the Mary Rose, a 16th-century British warship that sank off the coast of England.
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Immediately after the speech, Charles, who had joked, "I have absolutely no idea where I was, or where I am, or where I'm going to after this," was put on a flight back to England.
The Journal called him “the Stealth Prince,” because his news conference was only 15 seconds long and virtually no one outside of the event saw him.
Which other royal family members have visited Rhode Island?
In addition to Charles, many other members of the royal family have made stops in Rhode Island over the years.
Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1976, as part of America’s Bicentennial, before heading on to New York.
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Prince Andrew visited in 1983 and caught some of the America’s Cup race, as well as visiting the Newport mansions and the Naval War College and meeting with the governor.
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has also visited.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: King Charles III visited Newport, Rhode Island in 1996 for quick stop
