“We were cheek-to-cheek and I am really excited”, she said.
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The couple, without Prince George and Princess Charlotte, left Victoria on a float plane and arrived at Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza, where several hundred royal fans gave them a noisy welcome.
“And they were both lovely”, Joyce said.
“I went out everyday to try to see them, but the crowds were so huge”, said Makaj, who was three months pregnant at the time.
So it seems there is at least one person in this world who can resist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s boyish charms. William nodded as he listened to Trudeau speak.
Prince William asked a refugee from Afghanistan about how the society had benefited him, and the refugee replied that it helped him get into a technology course so he could learn new skills.
William and Kate spent much of the 30 minute journey looking out of the window as they flew from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, to the nearby bustling metropolis of Vancouver. “Whenever we used to put George or Charlotte on the scales, they would never stay still”, Kate said.
“She is so incredibly sweet and I can’t believe how good she is”.
The brooch was given to Queen Elizabeth (late the Queen Mother) by King George VI in 1939 and was inherited by the current Queen on her mother’s death in 2002. She is particularly proud of its Multicultural Youth Circle (MY Circle) program, for example, which provides training and support to immigrant children and refugees who face issues such as social isolation, trauma, racism, family conflict and communication barriers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his glamorous wife, Sophie, will join William and Kate later for a visit to the Immigration Services Society of British Columbia.
They launched a mental health campaign called Heads Together in the United Kingdom earlier this year to reduce the stigma around mental illness and raise funds for support services.
The couple will re-join their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, in Victoria before heading off to Bella Bella on Monday.
They were dressed semi-formally for their visit to Vancouver, with William wearing a blazer, tie and dark trousers.
Arriving in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour by seaplane, the Duchess wore a custom Alexander McQueen dress in red and white from designer Sarah Burton’s resort 2017 collection, which hasn’t hit the racks yet.
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William and Kate also hosted a reception for young Canadians making important contributions to their communities and were scheduled to visit the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station.
