page_title: Rideau Hall
section_title: Second World War
hierarchical_section_title: Rideau Hall / History / Second World War
caption_attribution_description: English: Queen Elizabeth (left) King George VI (second from left) with Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir (second from right) and Lady Tweedsmuir (right) at Rideau Hall during Their Majesties' royal tour of Canada.
context_page_description: Rideau Hall is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and his or her representative, the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36-square-kilometre estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of approximately 175 rooms across 9,500 square metres, and 27 outbuildings around the grounds. Rideau Hall's site lies outside the centre of Ottawa, giving it the character of a private home. It is one of two official royal residences maintained by the federal Crown, the other being the Citadelle of Quebec.
  Most of Rideau Hall is used for state affairs, only 500 square metres of its area being dedicated to private living quarters, while additional areas serve as the offices of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and the principal workplace of the governor general and his or her staff; either the term Rideau Hall, as a metonym, or the formal idiom Government House is employed to refer to this bureaucratic branch.
context_section_description: When King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth, arrived at Rideau Hall on 19 May 1939, during their first royal tour of Canada, official royal tour historian Gustave Lanctot stated: "When Their Majesties walked into their Canadian residence, the Statute of Westminster had assumed full reality: the King of Canada had come home." The King, while there, became the first monarch of Canada to personally receive the credentials of an ambassador, that being Daniel Calhoun Roper as the representative of the United States. It was thought for a time, after the outbreak of the Second World War, that the King, Queen, and their two daughters—Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret—would move permanently to Canada for the duration of the conflict in Europe; though, Hatley Castle, in Colwood, British Columbia, was purchased by the King in Right of Canada for this purpose, instead of using Rideau Hall. However, it was decided that the Royal Family leaving the United Kingdom at a time of war would be a major blow to morale and they remained in Britain.
  During the war, the palace became the home in exile of a number of royals displaced by the invasions of their respective countries back in Europe. Among the royal guests were Crown Prince Olav (later King Olav V) and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Luxembourg, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, King George II of Greece, Empress Zita of Austria and her daughters, as well as Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, her daughter, Princess Juliana (later Queen Juliana), and granddaughters, Princesses Beatrix (later Queen Beatrix), Irene  and Margriet. Though the resident governor general's wife, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, could do little to add her personal touch to Rideau Hall, due to rationing and scarce supplies, she put many of the other royal ladies to work making clothing for those who had lost their homes in the Blitz. It was then in 1940 that the governor general's office in the East Block of Parliament Hill was closed and moved to Rideau Hall. In December 1941, Winston Churchill arrived at the hall, where he presided over British Cabinet meetings via telephone from his bed.
caption: Left to right: Queen Elizabeth, King George VI, Governor General the Lord Tweedsmuir and Lady Tweedsmuir at Rideau Hall on 20 May 1939
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