Remembering Queen Elizabeth II: 1991 visit to Tampa Bay, FL | LiveNOW from FOX

he longest reigning monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth II passed away Thursday after spending 70 years on the throne. Among her worldly travels, the Queen made a visit to Tampa more than 30 years ago. As many in the Tampa Bay area slept, the Queen's yacht headed for Harbor Island in 1991. People came out in boats, stood at the water's edge and gathered on shore to see the royal yacht dock in Tampa. Queen Elizabeth II along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived aboard the Britannia. The royal couple was escorted throughout the city by Tampa's mayor at the time, Sandy Freedman. "You could just tell she was very down to earth, and she connected with people, and she did look them in the eye," Freedman said while reflecting on the Queen's visit. "You meet a lot of famous people, and they're looking over their shoulder and who they're going to meet next. And she wasn't like that at all." The former Tampa mayor said Queen Elizabeth was an incredible role model for women. "It's hard to relate to her, because she was the Queen of England. However, she was a mother, and she went through all the trials and tribulations," Freedman said. They traveled by motorcade under tight security, and their first big stop: The University of Tampa. The Queen was only in Tampa for two and a half hours, but the preparations for her visit were weeks in the making for the city.