Samuel Kallon 
By Hassan I. Conteh
Buckingham Palace in Westminster, London, was woken up with the sad news of the Queen’s death on September 8, 2022.
It was a big shock for United Kingdom (U K) and the world at large.
World leaders responded by sending messages of condolences to the royal family and citizens of UK.
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, was born April 21, 1926. Her real name was Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the eldest daughter of Queen Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.
The royals are respected in the United Kingdom and the world over.
To avoid confusion in the names, Her Majesty Elizabeth Angela was famously called, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
She was the wife of King George VI. She had only two daughters, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary and Princess Margaret.
Her Majesty died at age 101 on March 30, 2002. Her daughter Princess Margaret died before the Queen. London’s next queen, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary gave birth to four children.
They are: Princess Charles, Princess Anne, Andrew and Edward. Both Queen Elizabeth the Queen’s Mother and her daughter Queen Elizabeth II had visited Sierra Leone.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Sierra Leone twice before she died.
On her coming into Sierra Leone during the country’s independence in 1961, she spent a week in Sierra Leone between November 25 and December 1.
The Queen on her tour was believed to have visited historical places in Sierra Leone of which Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, and The Bo Government Secondary School also known as Bo school in Bo city, Sierra Leone second largest, were among the places she visited.
Built since 1952, Freetown seaport was named Queen Elizabeth II Quay in honour of Her Majesty.
The quay is one of the finest natural harbours in the world. But it could not attract huge income for the government partly due to its tiny space it occupies.
Water Quay as it is locally called saw an expansion under the leadership of ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma.
But even as now it could not host many ships since Sierra Leone’s economy is too small. And, as a result, only few ships are bringing goods into the country.
Also, Sierra Leone, unlike other British colonized countries in Africa like Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda, is failing to preserve the royals’ legacies or fortunes.
Most places named after The Majesties of United Kingdom in Sierra Leone do not live on with pride as their beauty has long ago eroded with the times.
For example, Victoria Park in Freetown has lost its lush and greenish beauty.
Freetown doesn’t have many public relaxation parks.
Perhaps, the only in the heart of the city, was Victoria Park built in 1972.
It was named in honour of Queen Victoria in London. Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Briatin and Ireland from 1837 to 1901.
Today, Victoria Park in Freetown is no more.
The park’s historic name which should have attracted royal families’ visits and citizens from different countries around the world was prematurely changed to Freetown Amusement park by the Koroma’s administration around 2015.
What can Sierra Leone proud of as her British royal legacies?
Do we use these places to attract tourists’ visitation?
Look, for example, in Uganda, Victoria Lake is one of the most visited tourists’ places in Africa by Americans, Europeans, Asians, Australians and Oceanians.
African countries where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited have continued to show more value on those historically visited places. That is the direct opposite in Sierra Leone. Tourism ministers have come and gone but the tourism inflow in the country is still a far-fetched dream.
On her first Africa Tour upon her coronation at the age of 25, Queen Elizabeth II first visited Kenya and Uganda in 1952.
She went to Kazinga National Park, which was later named Queen Elizabeth National Park as a reverence to Her Majesty.
Before her death on 8 September, 2022 the Queen of England had visited other countries in Africa as her Africa Tour.
Among the countries visited are: Ethiopia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Sierra Leone.
All those countries except Sierra Leone have maintained and preserved some of the important places Her Majesty had visited as tourist attractions.
But does our Tourism ministry up to the task?
