Prince William held George’s hand and Kate – wearing a blue hat and dress adorned with the Queen’s maple leaf brooch – carried Charlotte as they emerged from the airplane.
Advertisement
The tour is Charlotte’s first official royal visit; George has travelled to Australia and New Zealand with his parents in 2014 when he was nine months old.
During a ceremonial welcome in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Prince William told a crowd of thousands outside the imposing Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: “Catherine and I are delighted to be back in Canada”.
Three-year-old George and 16-month-old Charlotte won’t be there, but the Duke and Duchess will be greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Gov. Gen. David Johnston, B.C. Premier Christy Clark and B.C. Lt. Gov. Judith Guichon.
This is the royal couple’s second visit to Canada.
“Let me caution you from my own experience, if they’re anything like our kids, getting them back on a plane after a visit to our handsome west coast will really be a challenge”.
Once on the Tarmac Prince George began to look a little lost but was constantly reassured by his father Prince William who knows exactly how his son is feeling having encountered his first royal tour with his mother Princess Diana landing into the heat of Alice Springs in 1983.
“The lights of the B.C. legislature building are there because they were lit for the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria and they’ve been burning ever since”, she said of the site’s significance.
Canada is preparing to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge again – but this time as a family of four. This time they will take in the natural beauty of Canada´s Pacific coast, heading as far north as the rugged Yukon territory, and will also meet with indigenous people.
George appeared a little nervous at times, until reassured by his parents, while Charlotte appeared to be unfazed, despite a 10-hour flight from the United Kingdom.
The visit will also take the royal couple to Bella Bella, Haida Gwaii and Kelowna in British Columbia as well as Whitehorse and Carcross in Yukon.
Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, will also go with Sophie Trudeau to meet with women living at a drug rehabilitation residence.
Then they will stop off in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley in the south of the province, near the U.S. border.
When Prince William, his wife Kate and their children land in Victoria on Saturday aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter, the future king and queen will survey the city that has more connections to the monarchy than any other place in Canada.
The family will leave Victoria by seaplane on October 1, before returning to Britain on their official plane.
The royal family will be touring Canada for the rest of the week, returning back to the United Kingdom a week from today.
Advertisement
Trudeau quipped that travelling with children makes this visit different for the royals.
