Visit to Canada and the United States, 28 June-6 July 2010

[wbenson]

The Governor General of Canada - NEWS RELEASE - Her Majesty The Queen to visit Canada in 2010

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, is pleased to announce that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will visit Canada in 2010.

The visit will take place from June 28 to July 6, and will include stops in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Manitoba, and in the National Capital Region, on Canada Day.

[Duchess]

i'm going to try to be there

Hang on to your hat: the Queen is coming - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

[wbenson]

Metro - News of Queen's Halifax visit draws mixed reviews

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh are coming to Halifax next summer, but the mood of some about the visit is less than overzealous.

“Nothing against the Queen, but I wouldn’t bother coming to see her,” said Halifax's Steve Patterson on a brisk day yesterday off of Spring Garden Road.

[wbenson]

Queen considers visit to Lunenburg

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh are visiting Canada this coming summer, and if all goes well, the historic town of Lunenburg might just be one of the stops on their itinerary.

[wbenson]

BBC News - The Queen is to address the UN General Assembly

The Queen is to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York this summer for the first time in more than 50 years, Buckingham Palace says.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsan...edNations.aspx

The Queen will address the UN as the Head of State of the United Kingdom and 15 other United Nations member states. As well as the United Kingdom, The Queen is the Head of State of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

[wbenson]

TheSpec.com - BreakingNews - Royals say no to Hamilton, this time around

Hope of another royal visit to Hamilton this year has been dashed.

The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Rileys) asked about Prince Philip visiting them when he comes to Canada this summer with Queen Elizabeth II because he is Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment. But the Rileys’ commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sean McKee, received word this week from the prince’s equerry at Buckingham Palace that he will not be able to come during the June 28 - July 6 tour.

[wbenson]

Table set for Elizabeth to make a Queen's Plate appearance?

The details are still under a royal robe of secrecy, but all signs suggest this year's Queen's Plate — the 150th anniversary edition of Canada's most famous horse race — will be witnessed by none other than its namesake monarch, Queen Elizabeth, during her scheduled nine-day visit to the country this summer.

The race, almost always run on the last Sunday in June, has been pushed this year to July 4, when the Queen is expected to be on the Ontario leg of a Canadian tour that will also include stops in Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

[wbenson]

Tricky steps will keep Queen away from N.S. Tattoo - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

A plan to have the Queen official*ly open the Royal Nova Scotia In*ternational Tattoo this summer has been scuttled by concerns over the elderly monarch’s safe*ty.

[tommy1716]

Queen withdraws from Canadian military tattoo in row over staircase - Times Online

A row over a staircase has led to the Queen withdrawing from an appearance at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo during her forthcoming visit to Canada.

[Lillibetforever]

Silly people indeed! Don't they know that HM can manage to put her tiara on while walking down stairs?! A handful of stairs to a podium shouldn't pose much of a problem.

[Bosana]

What nonsense...and insulting to the Queen. As if she couldn't make up her own mind about whether she could ascend the stairs. Even her advisers didn't see a problem. Could not a hand rail be built just in case? It seems a shame that she won't enjoy the Tattoo, but I don't blame her for withdrawing.

[wbenson]

Originally Posted by Lillibetforever

A handful of stairs to a podium shouldn't pose much of a problem.

The diagram in this article puts the angle of the stairs in a little more perspective. After seeing that I can see why the Tattoo organizers might have been reluctant to have the Queen use them. They verge on being a ladder rather than stairs.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by wbenson

The diagram in this article puts the angle of the stairs in a little more perspective. After seeing that I can see why the Tattoo organizers might have been reluctant to have the Queen use them. They verge on being a ladder rather than stairs.

This is one of those situations where the people actually there needed to make the decision and those in London either send someone to investigate for themselves or accept the expert opinion of those on the ground.

It would have been extremely embarrasing for them if she had gone and then fallen on the steps and been badly injured (and at her age any fall can be extremely serious).

[Humera]

Palace says Queen will skip N.S. tattoo, despite final appeal by organizers

The tattoo says it has suggested a number of options to allow the Queen to attend, including the construction of special stages for her and allowing her to speak from a specially designated area.

. . . "The stairs in question are not stairs; they are theatrical presentation risers that no one uses without extensive rehearsals under show lighting conditions."

The organizers described themselves as "immensely disappointed" that the Queen wouldn't be attending, noting that many of the younger performers will be disappointed.

The tattoo was attended several times by the Queen Mother, who opened the first one in 1979. It gained its royal status in honour of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006. The Canadian Press: Palace says Queen will skip N.S. tattoo, despite final appeal by organizers


The official statement from the Tatoo can be found here: Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, Halifax, Nova Scotia - The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo's position on the royal visit

I understand the position of the organizers here. They've had many royal visits in the past and are quite experienced at this sort of thing. It's too bad the Queen's people couldn't have found a way to have her attend the event without having to climb the stage.

[wbenson]

CBC News - Ottawa - Royal visit to cost Ottawans $3M: police

The Queen's visit to Ottawa this summer could leave residents with a huge security tab since the federal government seems unwilling to pay, Ottawa police allege.

[wbenson]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/a...onation-parade

After two months of runaround, Bill Brennan got a call out of the blue from Ottawa, enthused about his idea of reuniting the Canadians who marched in the 1953 Coronation Parade one last time this summer.

On Wednesday, MacLeod called Brennan at his north Toronto home. Let’s do this, said MacLeod. The Queen will be visiting Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg, and we can do walkabouts for veterans in all four cities. You have two weeks.

[wbenson]

Prime Minister of Canada: PM announces destinations for the 2010 Royal Tour of Canada

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that Her Majesty The Queen of Canada and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will visit five cities and three provinces during their tour of Canada from June 28 to July 6.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will visit:

• Halifax from June 28 to June 30
• The National Capital Region from June 30 to July 3
• Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 3
• Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario from July 3 to July 6

The Queen's tour: Canada Day address, off to the races, a royal visit to RIM - The Globe and Mail

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office released a preliminary schedule of Queen Elizabeth’s Canadian visit Wednesday, slated to run from June 28 to July 6 with prominent stops in Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto and Waterloo – a length and profile that amount to a warm embrace of the monarchy on the part of Mr. Harper.

The Globe and Mail has also obtained a draft version of her full itinerary.

[wbenson]

From cobbling together a couple of different sources, this appears to be the outline for the Queen's visit:

June 28 and 29
Halifax

Rededicate Government House
Tour HMCS St. John's
Unveil Plaque at HMCS Sackville
Fleet review in Bedford Basin

June 30
Ottawa

Arrive in Ottawa
Canadian Museum of Nature - Rededicate museum
National Arts Centre - Unveil statue of Oscar Peterson
Rideau Hall - Unveil Diamond Jubilee window

July 1
Ottawa

Parliament Hill - Canada Day

July 2
Private retreat

July 3
Winnipeg

Inaugurate new building at the airport
Unveil statue at Government House
Lay cornerstone at the Human Rights Museum
Attend Human Rights concert
Arrive in Toronto

July 4
Toronto

St. James' Cathedral - service
Woodbine Racecourse - Queen's Plate

July 5
Toronto/Kitchener

RIM Headquarters (Waterloo)
Pinewood Studios - tour set
Luncheon
State dinner
Duke of Edinburgh's Awards (Prince Philip)

July 6
Toronto, New York

Ceremony at Queen's Park
Pearson Airport - Unveil new Canada Border Services Agency badge
Leave for New York
Address the United Nations General Assembly

[wbenson]

The Associated Press: Palace: Queen Elizabeth II to visit ground zero

Buckingham Palace says that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will visit the former site of the Twin Towers as part of her forthcoming tour of North America.

[wbenson]

Royal couple reaches out to Canadians

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip met 120 of the estimated half-million Canadians living in Britain here this week in advance of the royal couple's visit to Canada later this month.

Painter's work fit for visiting monarch - Winnipeg Free Press