Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, passed away peacefully in Scotland Thursday afternoon. She was 96 years old and had reigned since February of 1952.

The Queen shared a remarkable connection to — of all things — the UNC football program. While planning a visit to the United States in 1957, the Queen specifically requested to attend an American football game with her husband, Prince Philip. The game she attended was to be in College Park, MD, where the Maryland Terrapins would take on the No. 14 Tar Heels.

Carolina and Maryland were just another stop in a six-day trip for the Queen, which involved a visit to Virginia to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Jamestown colony, a state dinner and a stop at the Smithsonian.

To honor the Queen’s visit to the football game, UNC arranged for its alma mater, “Hark the Sound,” to play on BBC radio. University President William Friday and North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges attended the game, and students presented the Queen with a banner, the Yackety Yack yearbook and stuffed rams for her children at halftime.

Unfortunately, the Tar Heels weren’t able to put on a show for Her Majesty, falling to the upset-minded Terrapins, 21-7. It is the only American football game the Queen ever attended.

 

Featured image via Fox College Football on Twitter

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