The gift that keeps on giving: Ottawa's love affair with tulips, through the years

A festival begins in 1963

The CanadianTulip Festival is rooted in a wartime favour. The Dutch Royal Family initially sought refugein the United Kingdom in May 1940 after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. But the next month, Princess Juliana boarded a ship with her two daughters Princess Beatrix and Princess Irene and came to Ottawa via Halifax.

Canada hosted the royals in Stornoway, which is now home to Rona Ambrose as the leader of the opposition.

As a thanks for its hospitality after returning to a liberated Netherlands five years later, Princess Juliana sent Canada 100,000 tulip bulbs, among other gifts. She continued to send tulip bulbs after she succeeded as Queen of the Netherlands in 1948.

By1963, the Tulip Festival was born. See footage from the first festival in the video above.

Trudeaumania at Tulip Fest inlate 1960s

ARCHIVES | Trudeau talk tulips in late '60s

8 years ago

Duration 0:39

Then prime minister Pierre Trudeau talks tulips at the Tulip Festival in the late 1960s.

In this clip, then prime minister Pierre Elliott TrudeauattendsTulip Festival in the late 1960sand expoundson the virtues of living in Ottawa.

"This is indeed one of the great pleasures of living and working in this city, is that it is truly a beautiful city, and in the spring, at this time of year, the beauty is enhanced by the tulips," a beaming Trudeau tells the audience.Elsewhere in the speech, Trudeau manages to connect with the hippie youth by referencing "flower power" at least twice.

He also took the time to crown that year's "tulip queen" no, they don't do this anymoreand she appearedmighty pleased to get a kiss.

Bright tulips in bloom in 1980

ARCHIVES | Tulips in bloom in 1980

8 years ago

Duration 3:02

A look at the Ottawa Tulip Festival in 1980.

Princess Margrietvisits in 2002

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1943 while her mother was in exile returned to the capital for the Tulip Festival's 50th edition.

ARCHIVES | Princess Margriet of the Netherlands at Tulip Fest in 2002

8 years ago

Duration 1:51

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1943 while her mother Princess Juliana was in exile following the Nazi invasion returned to the capital for the Tulip Festival's 50th edition.

It was a homecoming sort of.The Civic Hospital was temporarily declared extraterritorial by the Government of Canada on the day she was born so that the princess would not have dual nationality, which would have affected her spot in line for the throne.

PrincessMargriethelped celebrate the festival's golden anniversary in 2002, an event which featured an actual tulip bed.