Kenya's Treetops Lodge pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

The management of Treetops Lodge has mourned the death of United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II after her passing away on Thursday.

Known for its historical significance as where the UK’s Monarch was first named Queen, the Kenyan hotel located in Aberdares, Nyeri County, remembered the Queen for her contribution during her 72 years in power.

 “The Treetops Lodge family is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022 and we extend sincere condolences to the Royal family and people of the United Kingdom,” the hotel said in a statement through its co-founder James Waibochi.

“When it was announced on 5th February 1952 that King George VI had passed away Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were guests at the game viewing Treetops Lodge in Kenya. Hence the Princess descended Treetops the next day as HM the Queen, but the news of her father’s death only reached the royal party after they had departed Treetops and returned to the nearby Sagana Royal Lodge.”

Treetops further recalled the Queen’s visits to Kenya in 1983 with her husband Prince Phillip, which it said also had the honour to accommodate Elizabeth for the second time.

“Treetops was fortunate to again host HM the Queen and HRH Prince Phillip on 13th November 1983 and by this time the Lodge had grown to 40 Bedrooms,” stated Waiboch.

Waiboch underscored that the Queen in her kind gesture to conserve the environment planted a tree which set the stage for the hotel to pioneer a programme dubbed ‘Return the Bush’ which is still active to date.

“During this visit HM the Queen highlighted the noticeable “retreat of the forest” which was caused by Elephant activity due to natural migratory routes being interrupted by electric fences installed to manage the human-wildlife conflict,” explained the statement.

“We happily joined the rest of the world in celebrating the Queen 60 Years Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and again in June 2022 for the 70 Years Platinum Jubilee. The Treetops Lodge to this day has maintained its unique tree house character and Royal family connection.”

Waiboch added: “Treetops Lodge, built in 1932 with 2 Bedrooms, was inspired by the need to shoot wildlife with Cameras instead of Guns and hence HM the Queen’s visit supported this safari culture change.”