Royal Tour of Canada and North America 2011
Prince William and Catherine, Kate, Middleton married on April 29, 2011. They are now officially called the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. For now, at least, they remain Wills and Kate.
The couple touched down on Canadian soil on June 30, 2011 for a 9 day tour of Canada followed by a 3 day tour of the US.
It is July 4 now and to date the tour has been a great success. Of course not everyone is over the moon to have a constitutional link to the British Monarchy. French-Canadian separatists in Quebec have already staged a protest. They may have been kept well away from the Royal Couple but the press have picked up on it.
So what have "Wills and Kate" been up to so far?
"Will and Kate" touched down in Canada a day before Canadians were to celebrate their country's 144th birthday. Perfect timing for a huge birthday bash. Time to recover from the flight before the day's festivities began.
July 1, 2011, included Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill, official welcome speech making, fireworks and more. It is safe to say that the thousands who turned out to join the celebrations looked more than happy with their royal visitors.
Of course the star of the show was the beautiful Duchess of Cambridge.
Dressed for the occasion, with a touch of humour in her hat, she looked elegant as always. Her red hat had more than a nodding respect for the Canadian Maple Leaf symbol. Somehow Catherine always manages to look formal and elegant whilst retaining a fresh charm that has a relaxed, "ordinary" sort of feel to it. Kate had a distinct advantage being a brunette as her colouring perfectly suited Canada's red and white colours.
Quebec protests
The Duke and Duchess got their hands dirty planting a tree. Well hardly. They ceremoniously added a couple of shovels full of earth at the royal grove area of Rideau Hall. This has been a tradition for visiting royals since the early 1800s. The pair planted a Canadian Hemlock tree. A visit to the Canadian War Museum followed with an afternoon departure from Ottawa. Next stop Montreal. A brief visit here ended with a firework display as Will and Kate headed off for an overnight trip down the St Lawrence River to Quebec City.
In Quebec though not everyone was ecstatic to see the pair. The protests were relatively small but they were there.
Today is the Fourth of July, Happy Independence Day to those in the USA. So what will " Will and Kate" be up to north of your border in Canada?
The royal couple arrive in Prince Edward Island late yesterday afternoon, landing at Charlottetown Airport.
July 4, 2011 has a busy schedule.
There will be no slacking for William. He is set to spend a rip roaring day in Prince Edward Island, during which time he will co-pilot a Sea King helicopter in an emergency water-landing exercise. The Duke should be used to such activities due to his search and rescue work in the UK. However, he may find that things are done differently in Canada.
Later in the day both Kate and William are to spend an active time competing against each other in a Dragon boat race. The race will be across Dalvay Lake and will feature professional racers and Island athletes also. Kate will be in one boat and William in the other. Wonder if he will let her win?
According to sources though Kate is no novice at Dragon racing. She undertook training in 2007. Kate has confessed that both she and William are extremely competitive so it could be a battle to the end.
Other events today include,
- A traditional Mi'kmaq smudging ceremony.
- Performances celebrating the Island's, aboriginal, Acadian and Celtic cultures.
- A performance by Anne and Matthew from Anne of Green Gables: The Musical.
- A coast guard demonstration in Summerside
If all goes to schedule William and Catherine will leave from Summerside airport around 5.30pm local time.The airport will be open for those wanting to wish the couple Bon Voyage.
The tour continues and updates will follow.
