Responding to the announcement of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Richard Stapleton, general freight manager at Geest Line said:

“We at Geest line are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family. We reflect with gratitude and admiration on an extraordinary lifetime of service.”

As head of the Commonwealth Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II travelled more than any monarch in history, visiting every part of Commonwealth family of nations. Between 1971 and 2018, she missed only one Heads of Government Meeting. Her devotion to duty was only matched by her skill as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, always a generous host and consummate diplomat.

Pictured above is Her Majesty opening the West Indian Banana Growers Research Centre in 1966 with Jana and Lucile Van Geest. The ceremony saw the exchange of ceremonial silver scissors and a Royal Silver coin which remains a treasured possession of the Van Geest family.

Flags on our Geest Line vessels will be being flown at half-mast as a sign of respect.