Surrounded By The Royals

The tour leaves the Hall of Honour and heads for the Senate, passing a series of portraits of Speakers of the Senate before coming to this large foyer area. A portrait of King George III can be seen in the background. The guide told us that some of the royal portraits here are paintings of paintings elsewhere, while others are commissioned originals.

A Christmas tree is here in the foyer at the moment.

Looking up, a view of the foyer ceiling catches the eye.

Here we have another portrait, Queen Victoria. 

King Edward VII is nearby.

Followed by King George V.

On the other side of the foyer, portraits of Queen Elizabeth and King George VI have been removed in preparation for the upcoming move over to West Block.

The finer details, like these carvings, caught my eye.

Today I leave off with a close up of the Christmas tree.

Senate Foyer

Coming out of the Library of Parliament and back into the Hall Of Honour, our guide, Nick, spoke about some of the details and contrasts between the library being part of the original Centre Block- built out of optimism- and the second Centre Block- built in the aftermath of the First World War, its tone more sombre. I photographed some of the details in the corridor before we moved on.

The next destination was the Senate foyer hall. This is the overhead ceiling, with crests and symbols adorning it. Words are among them as well- the surnames of those Senate Speakers that preceded the building of the new Centre Block. The corridors leading up here included portraits of the Senate Speakers since Confederation.

The walls around this hall include royal portraits, kings and queens, with their consorts visible in the upper levels. King Edward VII and King George V are side by side here.

Queen Victoria is to their left. Her portrait was among those items saved during the 1916 fire.

Across the space are portraits of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II side by side.

I liked the architecture of the nearby staircase, which leads to an outside entrance on the east side of Centre Block. Tomorrow we'll have a look at the Senate chamber.

My Royal Flush Beats Your Four Of A Kind

It's been a long time since I've played poker.

Moving away from the Library, the tour took us through corridors towards the Senate. I liked the look of this corridor.

Not to mention this staircase.

The foyer outside the Senate is circled with portraits of royalty, representing the kings and queens since Confederation. It starts with this portrait of Queen Victoria. The guide told us that if there would ever be another fire in the building, staff would remove this- it's that valuable.

Followed by King Edward VII. Ah, if only I'd thought of getting the whole frame in...

And King George V. If there was a portrait of Edward VIII, I didn't notice it, but given that he was king for such a short time before he ran off and married Mrs. Simpson, I doubt it.

Across the foyer were portraits of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.

Another take on the subject shows the upper floor above their portraits.

Tomorrow we'll be stepping inside the Senate. Fortunately Senator Duffy was not around. Only Canadians will understand that one.