Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: Tour of Canada - June 30-July 8, 2011


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Yes, the California flag has a (now extinct) California Golden (grizzly) Bear on it. We do still have a lot of black bears: case in point is that one was removed from a back yard in the city of San Luis Obispo in central California just a week or so ago and one was spotted during a live tv broadcast at a Lake Tahoe ski resort on July 4th.
 
jewishcarebear
scroll down and you can see how her clothes is travelling, now i can see, why she does not get wrinkles in her clothes in is not the normal suitcase i was expecting!
 
I think it's against protocol but today the Duke and Duchess openly hugged people during the walkabout. An interesting tidbit I was reading an article don't remember which but this family who came to the walkabout had lost everything. The only thing that they had left was a photo of their family that they took in London at William and Kate's wedding.
 
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Good grief, big deal, what kind of "private moment"? They are not in an intimate clinch, they are merely watching the fireworks. Some people find an excuse to complain about anything and everything. :bang:
Idk we have the exact same kind of photo from that night released by the government, so I don't really get the what's the big deal bout this one.

Kinda of a debbie downer article but it does have a bit of truth to it.
"Tree planting won't re-energize the monarchy"
Tree planting won
 
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We all felt it was a bit of a Kennedy scenario... "Ask not what your [monarchy] can do for you - ask what you can do for your {monarchy[]." We felt what we could do for it was ... show up, cheer, wave and welcome them. It was a marvelous experience.

You could not have said it better. :flowers: I don't want to be redundant and repeat what others have said regarding their kindness and genuine interest in those they meet and talk to, so I will just give a *thumbs up*, because those are my thoughts exactly.
 
ETA: Thanks to Mia_mae for pointing out that it was not a hug but still a nice moment. Good on Catherine for letting her get to so close to take a picture with her.
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Good grief, big deal, what kind of "private moment"? They are not in an intimate clinch, they are merely watching the fireworks. Some people find an excuse to complain about anything and everything. :bang:

I get the feel from the argument that the real issue is with the journalists and media at events. They've been given a tight rope they must adhere to, and everyone is vying for these great photos and are expected not to trespass on the Duke and Duchess' private time since they're so being so good about being seen "with the public" and then this photo appears from a member of the government. Kind of a slap in the face for many media members, as they'd be in trouble if they published a photo in their publications.

I'm not seeing a big deal with the photo, but I don't think that's the issue really...more that the media is up in arms about the hypocrisy.
 
I know this pic is small it's a screencap from CBC but I needed to post this. This is the Duchess hugging a member of the public. I thought it was a touching moment.
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No, it wasn't a hug, I believe. The girl was trying to make Kate take a picture with her. So she put her arm (which really shocked me, I think there is a limit to proximity) on Catherine's back to make her realize she wanna to take the picture, I guess. Tricky situation, it's against the protocol, but to make a fuss about it , would only create unnecessary comments.

Anyways, they spend a good amount of time with people of Slave Lake. And I'm sure those who went, were pleased with the gestures.
 
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No, it wasn't a hug, I believe. The girl was trying to make Kate take a picture with her. So she put her arm (which really shocked me, I think there is a limit to proximity) on Catherine's back to make her realize she wanna to take the picture, I guess. Tricky situation, it's against the protocol, but to make a fuss about it , would only create unnecessary comments.

Anyways, they spend a good amount of time with people of Slave Lake. And I'm sure those who went, were pleased but the gestures of THRs
Oh really? I only saw a few secs and it looked like a hug well good on Catherine for letting her get so close to her.
 
Kate did hug someone either yesterday or the day before and William also posed for a photo w/someone in Slave Lake today. Also not the first time that's happened on this Tour, which is fantastic IMO. Part of the criticism of The Royal Family in the past has been their "stand off-ishness". Seeing the both of them treat the people/groups the way they have during their Walkabouts certainly show this is a far different Royal Couple.

As for Tony Clement's incredably stupid stunt...It's not only the Media being ticked off by him doing that, but when you're invited/chosen to be part of the make up of the group of people to be inside an Event, such as the Meet and Greet at the War Museum and today in Slave Lake, you are *not* allowed to bring any cameras inside w/you. I'm assuming that also goes for camera phones these days. If you're carrying a purse, it's searched before you're allowed entry into the building where the event is taking place.

I can understand the Media being ticked off about this, and rightfully so I might add, however this isn't some silly thing that happened here either. Here we have a Federal Cabinet Minister of the Government of Canada coming across as being above the rules that apply to everyone else when it comes to attending a Royal Event or if you're a member of the Media that's part of the Press Pool covering the Tour.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion about this, but Clement *should* have known better and I'm not impressed at all.
 
No, it wasn't a hug, I believe. The girl was trying to make Kate take a picture with her. So she put her arm (which really shocked me, I think there is a limit to proximity) on Catherine's back to make her realize she wanna to take the picture, I guess. Tricky situation, it's against the protocol, but to make a fuss about it , would only create unnecessary comments.

Anyways, they spend a good amount of time with people of Slave Lake. And I'm sure those who went, were pleased with the gestures.

That has got to be awkward for Catherine. Refusing and making a fuss would create a fuss, so I guess one just goes with the flow in this case.

I wonder if anyone tells the public not to put their hands on the royals (unless the royals are the ones initiating the contact). I remember when I was at stage door of a Broadway production couple of years back, the security guard specifically instructed people not to touch any of the actresses, unless the actresses initiated contact first. It worked quite well.
 
All in all, I think Katherine scored a slam dunk in Canada.
 
enjoying watching the CBC every night seeing what they are up to every day they are doing a great job
 
Sorry dunno the source found it on another board.
Farris Sobhani was filling up at a gas station a block away from where the crowd gathered. He said the monarchy has a history of oppressing colonies and native peoples and shouldn't be celebrated.
"It's fantastic that people are bringing attention to Slave Lake," he said. "I just think it is unfortunate that we have turned this into celebrity worship.
Just saw this quote from a local in Slave Lake and this is what I don't understand about people. If William and Kate are out and showing themselves and doing work it's "oh it's for PR they should have done it in private and it's a celebrity thing" If they don't it's oh they're lazy they're avoiding they're job they think they can be normal. Honestly sometimes I feel like they can't win. How are they going to get their message across and bring attention to the causes they're visiting if the media isn't there. Sorry didn't mean to turn it into a rant but it's something that's genuinely been bothering me the last few days.
 
Sorry dunno the source found it on another board.

Farris Sobhani was filling up at a gas station a block away from where the crowd gathered. He said the monarchy has a history of oppressing colonies and native peoples and shouldn't be celebrated. "It's fantastic that people are bringing attention to Slave Lake," he said. "I just think it is unfortunate that we have turned this into celebrity worship.

Just saw this quote from a local in Slave Lake and this is what I don't understand about people. If William and Kate are out and showing themselves and doing work it's "oh it's for PR they should have done it in private and it's a celebrity thing" If they don't it's oh they're lazy they're avoiding they're job they think they can be normal. Honestly sometimes I feel like they can't win. How are they going to get their message across and bring attention to the causes they're visiting if the media isn't there. Sorry didn't mean to turn it into a rant but it's something that's genuinely been bothering me the last few days.

For me its wound up in several issues. I take great pleasure in watching the BRF vis-a-vis their 'subjects'. It seems to be an intensely personal relationship - almost akin to a family connection. It is a relationship I do not share nor actually understand. In no-way-shape-or-form am I a monarchist in the sense that I would choose to be ruled by a monarch. No thank you. But I enjoy the romance of it in a remote way - the arcane aspects, all of that. And I like the fashion. :cool:

So when members of the RF do these 'tours' through the commonwealth its a fascinating thing to watch but in no way am I connected or impressed by these people the way their subjects are. There appears to be a 'shorthand' - protocols - that these folks need to follow and the subjects are happy.

But there is a difference between dignified protocols associated with monarchy/royalty and celebrity and photo-ops and I do see it as celebrity - and the man from Slave Lake is making a good point. William and Kate could have gone to Slave Lake privately, respecting the people there but not making them part of their 'publicity machine'. They did not have to go there hauling the press after them. In fact, they had a day off - they could have gone off and done their own thing, Slave Lake if that's what was their thing. People could have heard about it later - why bring photographers to record every tragic scene and 'heartfelt' encounter?

You ask: How are they going to get their message across and bring attention to the causes they're visiting if the media isn't there? Interesting that you believe that that is acceptable, that that is work. Historically, there have been celebrities who have thought that and engaged in just that. It isn't work. Having media (and private individuals) snapping pictures within inches of one's nose is not 'getting a message across'. Its just mindless celebrity - canny PR - and in the royals case, its very expensive PR (in many, many ways) and puts a lot of people out. One gets one's message across by working, really working. The rest is cheap, momentary chatter and bling.
 
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Well then for example off the top of my head Diana. I don't want to make this thread into a Diana thread at all and take away from what it's focus is but without the media there, alot of people may have still thought you could transmit Aids by shaking someone's hand. So IMO I do believe the media does help get their message across.

I myself knew very little about Slave Lake before this visit. After seeing the pictures of devastation it got me to thinking what would I have done if I had been in the same situation. These are questions I would have never begun to ask myself if William and Kate had never gone there. In the past William has done private visits to hospital and to the homeless shelter so I don't believe he is being sucked into any type of PR machine.

Yes it could have been private but compared to the other visits there were very few journalists there only about 30. I do believe William and Kate even asked and wanted to make sure that the press' presence was not a bother to the people of Slave Lake. I know cause CBC has repeated this several times today.Ya they could have taken the day off but IMO I think it was quite generous of them to give up their time off and go there on such short notice. They apparently have been following this story for a long time so quite obviously they were genuinely concerned.

The cameras were also kept at a distance during the visit and very few photos were released from the meeting inside the gymnasium. And the photos of the wreckage were shot at a distance you could tell by watching the video.Also there is only footage of them entering none of them speaking to any of the families in the gymnasium. So I don't see it as them being in your face especially not during this part of the visit.

Quite honestly from what I've seen today the media has suddenly taken an interest to Slave Lake an interest that wasn't there before. CBC will even now be following the relief efforts so IMO I don't think this visit was a waste at all. I actually think it was quite helpful and pretty much 90% of the community seemed thrilled at the presence of the Duke and Duchess.

I also want to add that I see it in the same way the media for example tells us about a new treatment for cancer. It's the papers the tv shows, internet and radio that transmit this message across to us the people. Otherwise how would we know about anything? For me William, Diana even Charles have introduced me to causes that I would have never cared about before. If I had seen it in a paper I wouldn't have read the article on it. For example the rainforest, AIDS, homelessness etc.To me it's just a different way of getting the message across.Instead of hearing it from a scientist I'm hearing it from William. I don't see it as bad different people are interested in different things, learn about things differently etc I'm rambling here now so I'll just finish this off. What do you consider to be work? What do you want them to do that you consider as acceptable? Make all their visits private?

On another note IMO I think the LA trip will be fine too. It's not as if he's never been present at an award show. And then polo well obviously I get the connection there. IMO I just think the tv shows are over hyping the celebrity interest. It will prob be just like any normal visit.
 
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I don´t follow this RF much, so what is the point of this tour? If there is any.
 
I don´t follow this RF much, so what is the point of this tour? If there is any.

Since you don't follow the British Royal Family that much, I will repost Humera's earlier post, as I think it explains it better than I can.



This is a newly married couple on their first official tour of a country Prince William will one day be King of. His parents' tour was much longer and so were the tours of his grand and great-grandparents. Canada's too big to cover in one small visit so various members of the royal family usually try to visit different regions during each trip. So yeah, if they were visiting a republic, the visit might be too long. But not a nation that's part of their 'realm.' The whole point of these visits is for the royals to meet ordinary Canadians and for them to meet their future monarch.

As for the events, the couple themselves helped choose the activities they participated in. Their chosen theme for the visit is youth and they've focused on that. They've even said that they want people to address them informally, as confirmed by the Queen's Canadian secretary. The couple have deliberately granted people more access to them than, say, the Queen would because the protocol for her is much stricter and she doesn't do a lot of walkabouts. None of this is random or pointless. Each activity and event has been carefully choreographed.

The particular search and rescue exercise that William took part in is unique to Canada and Britain has sent its pilots here to learn the manoeuvre. One of the articles mentioned that William had heard about it from his colleagues at home and wanted to try it. Catherine wanted to visit PEI because of her fondness for Anne of Green Gables.

William and Kate's visit to Quebec was significant because the Queen hasn't been there in several decades and Charles and Camilla weren't well received there. But this young couple was. It was an important exercise in forging a better image of the monarchy in the province.

I will just add that it is customary for a member of the British Royal Family to tour Canada during the Canada Day celebrations (as well as other times of the year). Sophie and Edward did the tour in 2005 and 2009; the Queen and the DoE in 2005 and 2010; abd Charles and Camilla in Fall of 2010 to give the time frame of some recent visits. Prior to that both Sarah and Andrew as well as Charles and Diana had visited Canada at some point as well. In addition, a popular tour of Canada in 1937-38 timeframe assisted in shoring up popularity for a new King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
 
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You don't follow this royal family much but it's amazing how many times you have visited this thread!
 
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