(Canadian Prime Minister King, British Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt, Governor-General Alexander Cambridge, 1943)

The Quebec Conference of 1943, known as codename Quadrant, was held at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac from August 17 to August 24, 1943. In attendance were U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the Combined Chiefs of Staff. Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was the host but did not attend any of the key confidential meetings. While the U.S. President and Prime Minister Churchill did not reside in the Château (they stayed at the Governor-General’s summer residence in the Citadel), the Combined Chiefs of Staff and all other members of the conference party stayed at the Château Frontenac. The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military staff for Britain and the United States of America during World War II. The CCS set all the major policy decisions for the two nations, subject to the approvals of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

(Combined Chiefs of Staff, Château Frontenac, 1943)

Following the closing of the conference, a young sergeant of the Canadian Army, Émile Couture, was responsible for cleaning up the offices at the Château to ensure no sensitive information remained. Couture found a leather portfolio with a gold inscription "Churchill-Roosevelt, Quebec Conference, 1943," on the exterior and kept it as a souvenir not realizing that it contained nearly complete plans for Operation Overlord, the codename for The Battle of Normandy. That evening Couture discovered the contents of the portfolio and, realizing the extremely sensitive nature of those documents, hid the portfolio under his mattress until he could return the portfolio in the morning. Couture was investigated by Scotland Yard and the FBI to ensure none of the information had been leaked. At the Second Quebec Conference, Couture was awarded the British Empire Medal for his silence.


(First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Lady Clementine Churchill, 1944)

The Château also served as the headquarters of the Second Quebec Conference, codenamed Octagon, which took place from September 12 to September 16, 1944. On September 13 at 7:00 p.m., First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Lady Clementine Churchill made a broadcast to the people of Canada from the press room that had been established in the Château Frontenac. Both were fluent in French and were thus able to deliver a powerful message of alliance in both English and French.


(Hyde Park Aide-Mémoire, 1944)

Just as the First Quebec Conference resulted in the plans for Operation Overlord, the Second Quebec Conference resulted in the agreement between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to use the atomic bomb against Japan if necessary. It was revealed that these discussions took place in the Hyde Park Aide-Mémoire, which was written on September 18 following the conclusion of the conference.

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Question: Which historic hotel hosted the top secret World War II conference known as Quadrant?

1. Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
2. The Savoy London
3. Fairmont Empress
4. Castle Hotel Windsor

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