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This article explores the 1953–54 Royal Tour and in particular the planning and eventual reception of the Queen and her party when they arrived in Gibraltar. These events are considered in terms of three overlapping contexts: the imperial, the colonial and the geopolitical. First, the Royal Tour marked not only the debut of a new Queen but also the realization that the British Empire was beginning to fragment with the eruption of independence movements in South Asia and the Middle East. Hence, its international itinerary bound the remaining empire symbolically together, but also served as a reminder of the ‘gaps’ that were beginning to appear. Second, the analysis considers how the Royal Tour presented an opportunity for the local residents of Gibraltar to ‘perform their loyalty’ to the new Queen and the British Empire. The focus on performance is significant because the article does not presume that ‘loyalty’ is simply pre-given. A great deal of work was involved in realizing the reception of the Queens party in May 1954 against a backdrop of a territorial dispute with Spain over the future legal status of Gibraltar. The Royal Tour offered the possibility, therefore, of persuading the British and Spanish governments of the local residents’ qualities including a continued loyalty to the British/imperial Royal Family and indirectly to Britain. Third, the article underscores the significance of such loyal performances by considering Spanish opposition to the Queens visit in the light of Francos efforts to establish his countrys anti-Communist credentials. The Royal Tour, and the Gibraltar leg in particular, are thus show to be an intense locus of performances linked to the politics of empire, colonial rights and anti-imperialism. Animated, happy faces gazing at the sights and decorations show better than words the true feelings of the people of the fortress-colony towards their young, beloved Queen. One correspondent of a British newspaper said that he thought the 27,000 servicemen and civilians on the Rock were so fervidly loyal that they would tear to pieces anyone discovered in their midst with evil designs, and that was sufficient guarantee of their Majestys safety.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]