Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: Tour of Canada - Sept 24-Oct 1, 2016


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I find the phenomenon of short trousers and long socks very weird.
If it is warm enough for short trousers, then you don't need long socks; if it is cold enough for long socks, wear long trousers. This just looks weird!

:whistling: Sitting here wearing shorts, socks and a sweater. Not an uncommon thing here in my part of Canada. Especially when this time of year when it is cool in the morning and evening but warm during the day.

I would love to see George in a pair of big boy trousers but since he is such a cutie I don't care as long as I get to see him.
 
With Canada being a major part of the realm, it would be good for the Cambridge's to deepen their ties to the Canadian people by taking on some charities in Canada and taking on some honorary roles with the military. It could be a chance for William and Catherine to make more visits together and individual visits in the future.

We currently see Anne, Charles, Edward and Sophie doing this. William and Catherine should get on board.

It is quite clear to me that both Charles and William understand the importance of the Commonwealth realms, especially Australia, Canada and New Zealand, for the future of the British royal family and, accordingly, they have devoted great attention to the aforementioned countries, while Harry seems to be establishing a personal connection with the Caribbean realms. That is a topic for a different forum though.
 
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With Canada being a major part of the realm, it would be good for the Cambridge's to deepen their ties to the Canadian people by taking on some charities in Canada and taking on some honorary roles with the military. It could be a chance for William and Catherine to make more visits together and individual visits in the future.

We currently see Anne, Charles, Edward and Sophie doing this. William and Catherine should get on board.


Well that's up to the Queen to do that with the military roles. William only has one Army one and Kate only has the air cadets in the UK. They don't really have any realm countries military appointments but other royals have to give them up for the younger royals to take over. At this point, it almost seems like they are waiting for the Queen and Philip to pass on which will cause a large number of patronages and appointments to switch hands as Charles moves up to the throne.


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I find the phenomenon of short trousers and long socks very weird.
If it is warm enough for short trousers, then you don't need long socks; if it is cold enough for long socks, wear long trousers. This just looks weird!

I assure you it's not an unusual 'look' in the United Kingdom.. many boys [myself included] wore/wear such clothing at school [until aged about 11], and the continue to do so today.
i've always attributed its enduring popularity to 'Grazed Knees', and the fact that Shorts remain unscathed in the MANY Childhood falls, whereas Long Trousers would not !
 
I assure you it's not an unusual 'look' in the United Kingdom.. many boys [myself included] wore/wear such clothing at school [until aged about 11], and the continue to do so today.
i've always attributed its enduring popularity to 'Grazed Knees', and the fact that Shorts remain unscathed in the MANY Childhood falls, whereas Long Trousers would not !


I know it is the standard school uniform in the UK, but, to many people in the American continent, it looks terribly old-fashioned. I don't know if other posters agree with me though.
 
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Well that's up to the Queen to do that with the military roles. William only has one Army one and Kate only has the air cadets in the UK. They don't really have any realm countries military appointments but other royals have to give them up for the younger royals to take over. At this point, it almost seems like they are waiting for the Queen and Philip to pass on which will cause a large number of patronages and appointments to switch hands as Charles moves up to the throne.


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I think her cadets role extends to Canada too.

I know the military appointments is up to The Queen. Also, lets face it, I'm not sure The Queen will be making it back to Canada to visit some of the military, so it wouldn't hurt for her to pass on some appointments down to the Cambridge's. It would also be great if they took up some patronages in Canada. I'm sure there some charities that other members of the Royal family don't support. Especially, around sports, mental health and children.

I'm just saying it would be good for the Cambridge's to deepen there relationship with the Canadian people by supporting their causes officially.
 
I've seen the combination of shorts and long socks in Canada, but not typically with the inclusion of a sweater as well, especially in a child (they're usually put in a pair of pants if a sweater is required).

The fact is though, that it's fairly standard in the UK and we can expect George and Charlotte to be dressed in the fashion of the British upper class children until they're older - at least when they're out on "official" business.
 
CTV News just said there are over 500 journalists from around the world accredited for the royal visit.
 
They have been there already twice in five years. The Cambridges are just getting started on their Royal life. They aren't even full time yet. There will be several more trips to the Canada in the future.


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Evening TV news in Australia is saying the crowds greeting William and Catherine were estimated at twenty-five thousand.

They screened a cute video clip of George taking the initiative and waving at Mrs Trudeau as everyone stood on the tarmac - and Mrs T's enthusiastic response to him. :lol:

PM Trudeau's wife actually goes by Sophie Gregorie Trudeau (Gregorie being her middle name). In Quebec (where the couple is from), there is actually a legal ban on women taking their husband's name upon marriage.

Well that's up to the Queen to do that with the military roles. William only has one Army one and Kate only has the air cadets in the UK. They don't really have any realm countries military appointments but other royals have to give them up for the younger royals to take over. At this point, it almost seems like they are waiting for the Queen and Philip to pass on which will cause a large number of patronages and appointments to switch hands as Charles moves up to the throne.


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I believe outside of the UK, it's actually up to the GG to give out these roles. The Commander in Chief of the Canadian armed forces is not the Queen, but rather the Queen's representative, GG David Johnston.
 
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I know it is the standard school uniform in the UK, but, to many people in the American continent, it looks terribly old-fashioned. I don't know if other posters agree with me though.

Well thankfully, America or the USA is not the center of the world. :)
 
I know it is the standard school uniform in the UK, but, to many people in the American continent, it looks terribly old-fashioned. I don't know if other posters agree with me though.

I agree... and it’s not just considered to be old fashioned in the USA. You won’t see many children wearing that in Europe. Even among the upper classes.
 
I know it is the standard school uniform in the UK, but, to many people in the American continent, it looks terribly old-fashioned. I don't know if other posters agree with me though.

I don't think it looks old-fashioned, especially on a young boy. If George were thirteen and still dressed like that, then I would find it a little strange, otherwise, it's perfectly fine. Even though I've lived in the States for two and a half decades, my first ten years were spent in USSR, where children are dressed in a way that is similar to how George and Charlotte are outfitted. Many boys in my preschool came dressed in button-down shirts, shorts worn over thick tights in the winter and with knee-socks in warmer months and in Mary-Jane style shoes. This style of dress was common for boys until they were about seven years old.



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I've seen the combination of shorts and long socks in Canada, but not typically with the inclusion of a sweater as well, especially in a child (they're usually put in a pair of pants if a sweater is required).

The fact is though, that it's fairly standard in the UK and we can expect George and Charlotte to be dressed in the fashion of the British upper class children until they're older - at least when they're out on "official" business.

The same wardrobe we see on George and Charlotte is pretty much what was put on me and my sibling as small kids. IMO, it's how children should be dressed.

Everyone's taste in fashion is different though.
 
OK - who among us lives on the West coast of Canada? Knows people there? Is there a buzz about the tour and are people planning to try to see the family if they are close? Were the 25k locals or did people drive in from Vancouver, etc.? Does anyone want to be our local reporter a la Sun lion on the Australia Tour (nod of cap to Sun Lion)?

I was there!

A couple of friends and I took the ferry over to the Island for the day for the event. It's not a cheap trip, nor a short one (between getting to the ferry, waiting for the ferry, taking the ferry, then driving into the city, you're looking at 3 hours each way), so it's somewhat discouraging to go over.

We walked about the city for a bit in the morning, and there was a definite buzz about the visit - Union Jacks in shop windows, and people chatting about the upcoming visit.

The streets around the Legislative Buildings were blocked off to traffic, and there were a lot of people there. I can easily believe 25,000 which is no small number - the city itself has a population of about 80,000, the metropolitan area around it only 345,000. Most of them were on the lawns of the buidlings itself, but a good chunk were across the street around the harbour. We showed up around there at about 2PM and took up spot across the street from the War Memorial. At the time, it was a neglected area and kind of looked like a not great spot to be in - we were clear to see things at the War Memorial, and we knew that they'd be laying a wreath and there would be a moment of silence, so we knew we'd see the couple, but we couldn't see the stage from where we were, and it was hard to hear. We wanted to go into the center of it, but we were told that at about 4 PM they were going to be closing off the street to foot traffic until after the event (so if you were on the lawn, you couldn't leave until after the royals were gone), and we knew we were going to have to leave early to make our ferry back.

The crowd was in a great mood, and cheering every time cameras panned over them (to some annoyance to the people who couldn't see the stage; every time cheers happened it was a "is something happening?!" only to be disappointed by the TV). A bit before 5 Premier Christy Clark and her son, Hamish, arrived (Clark is unmarried). Then a bit after that a convey arrived - people thought it held the Royal Couple, but it just had PM Justin Trudeau, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, GG David Johnston, Sharon Johnston, and LG Judith Guichon (her husband was not in attendance).

Then a bit later a third convey arrived and parked right in front of the war memorial. A group got out of it and everyone freaked out because it included a tall, bald man in a blue suit. The man totally played it up a bit until people realized that he wasn't William - he got out of the car with his back to us, so we could just see the bald head over the car. The crowd that could see his face was overjoyed so everyone where I was started getting excited until he turned around. I had a moment of "wow, William's uglier than I expected" before I realized it wasn't William at all, but a member of the media who happened to be a bald man in a blue suit.

The Canadian contingent of the party went into the Legislative buildings to wait until a bit closer to when the couple was arriving. We were told that the Royals were expected at 5:05, but then we were told that they were running late (what the problem was was never revealed). At about quarter after we were told that they were going to be 5 minutes, but they didn't actually arrive until 5:30. A few minutes before the couple arrived the Canadian contingent of the party came out of the Legislative buildings, walked down the red carpet to the War Memorial and then stood on the corner of the street across from where I was, waiting for the couple to arrive. There were mild cheers for the GG and LG, as I don't think they're well known (I knew who the GG and his wife were, but didn't know the LG's name until yesterday), and a lot of cheers for the PM (not, I would say more than the royal couple, although perhaps a bit more than the bald man in the blue suit), and a mixture of cheers and boos for the Premier.

Everyone seemed to go overjoyed when William and Kate did arrive. It was a half hour late, and I think people were getting a bit restless, but once they arrived and the show was on everyone was happy. Perhaps a bit too much - as the couple got out of the car in front of the War Memorial, did the meet and greet with the Canadian contingent again, and then went right into the moment of silence at the War Memorial that the crowd was not ready for.

Sadly, I wasn't able to stick around past the moment of silence for any of the speeches, as we had to leave to catch our ferry.
 
I was there!

A couple of friends and I took the ferry over to the Island for the day for the event. It's not a cheap trip, nor a short one (between getting to the ferry, waiting for the ferry, taking the ferry, then driving into the city, you're looking at 3 hours each way), so it's somewhat discouraging to go over.

We walked about the city for a bit in the morning, and there was a definite buzz about the visit - Union Jacks in shop windows, and people chatting about the upcoming visit.

The streets around the Legislative Buildings were blocked off to traffic, and there were a lot of people there. I can easily believe 25,000 which is no small number - the city itself has a population of about 80,000, the metropolitan area around it only 345,000. Most of them were on the lawns of the buidlings itself, but a good chunk were across the street around the harbour. We showed up around there at about 2PM and took up spot across the street from the War Memorial. At the time, it was a neglected area and kind of looked like a not great spot to be in - we were clear to see things at the War Memorial, and we knew that they'd be laying a wreath and there would be a moment of silence, so we knew we'd see the couple, but we couldn't see the stage from where we were, and it was hard to hear. We wanted to go into the center of it, but we were told that at about 4 PM they were going to be closing off the street to foot traffic until after the event (so if you were on the lawn, you couldn't leave until after the royals were gone), and we knew we were going to have to leave early to make our ferry back.

The crowd was in a great mood, and cheering every time cameras panned over them (to some annoyance to the people who couldn't see the stage; every time cheers happened it was a "is something happening?!" only to be disappointed by the TV). A bit before 5 Premier Christy Clark and her son, Hamish, arrived (Clark is unmarried). Then a bit after that a convey arrived - people thought it held the Royal Couple, but it just had PM Justin Trudeau, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, GG David Johnston, Sharon Johnston, and LG Judith Guichon (her husband was not in attendance).

Then a bit later a third convey arrived and parked right in front of the war memorial. A group got out of it and everyone freaked out because it included a tall, bald man in a blue suit. The man totally played it up a bit until people realized that he wasn't William - he got out of the car with his back to us, so we could just see the bald head over the car. The crowd that could see his face was overjoyed so everyone where I was started getting excited until he turned around. I had a moment of "wow, William's uglier than I expected" before I realized it wasn't William at all, but a member of the media who happened to be a bald man in a blue suit.

The Canadian contingent of the party went into the Legislative buildings to wait until a bit closer to when the couple was arriving. We were told that the Royals were expected at 5:05, but then we were told that they were running late (what the problem was was never revealed). At about quarter after we were told that they were going to be 5 minutes, but they didn't actually arrive until 5:30. A few minutes before the couple arrived the Canadian contingent of the party came out of the Legislative buildings, walked down the red carpet to the War Memorial and then stood on the corner of the street across from where I was, waiting for the couple to arrive. There were mild cheers for the GG and LG, as I don't think they're well known (I knew who the GG and his wife were, but didn't know the LG's name until yesterday), and a lot of cheers for the PM (not, I would say more than the royal couple, although perhaps a bit more than the bald man in the blue suit), and a mixture of cheers and boos for the Premier.

Everyone seemed to go overjoyed when William and Kate did arrive. It was a half hour late, and I think people were getting a bit restless, but once they arrived and the show was on everyone was happy. Perhaps a bit too much - as the couple got out of the car in front of the War Memorial, did the meet and greet with the Canadian contingent again, and then went right into the moment of silence at the War Memorial that the crowd was not ready for.

Sadly, I wasn't able to stick around past the moment of silence for any of the speeches, as we had to leave to catch our ferry.


Thank you for your report, Ish


It is interesting that you live in BC and didn't know the LG's name. Is that common in all Canadian provinces ? I assumed the LGs kept a higher profile.
 
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: Tour of Canada - Autumn 2016

Thanks, Ish
You give a good account of the event. It was nice to see the people of BC and Canada receive the Royal couple in such an enthusiastic manner. Just want to add that it was rather disappointing to see young Hamish(son of the Premier of BC) had his hands glued inside his trouser pockets. From his first appearance on the tarmac to waiting for their car to pull up at the end he seemed to struggle to keep his hands out of his pockets. Surely the youngsters are taught that it is poor manners, especially at such a grand occasion as personally meeting the Royal couple?


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I will add a few notes: I think there was a general feeling (at least where I was) that the tour has been poorly planned - I heard more than a few people make comments that whoever determined the itinerary did so with no knowledge of BC geography. Which is true - anyone who thinks that spending 1 day in Vancouver, the next in Bella Bella, then the next in Kelowna makes sense needs to look at a map.

I don't think anyone was surprised that the couple was late, as again the itinerary was rather poorly done. The plane landed at the airport at 4PM, there was a meet and greet there, then the Canadian contingent went to the Legislative Buildings while the Cambridges went to Government House to drop off the kids before coming to the Legislative Buildings for the event which was supposed to start at 5. It was supposed to be over at 6, then some of the party went back to Government House. Again, looking at basic geography this didn't even allow for any traffic congestion so the fact that the couple ended up being a half an hour late wasn't really a surprise to anyone (well, except for to one well dressed woman who looked like she was running the show and definitely was not happy).
 
They have been there already twice in five years. The Cambridges are just getting started on their Royal life. They aren't even full time yet. There will be several more trips to the Canada in the future.


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Yes, I know, but I do think it would nice to now start up a deeper relationship with the Canadian people by now looking into charities and organizations there to support. Honorary military roles also allow the relationships to deepen. It gives the opportunity for the couple to individually become involved with the people and causes.

Again, take the lead of Charles, Anne and the Wessex's on this. Official trips are great, but a business trip is even greater.
 
Will the CTV live feed have sound at some point? I watched the CBC coverage yesterday.


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Thank you for your report, Ish


It is interesting that you live in BC and didn't know the LG's name. Is that common in all Canadian provinces ? I assumed the LGs kept a higher profile.

I don't think the LG keeps a high profile at all. I don't think that's necessarily typical; I remember our last LG (Steven Point) who I actually thought was still the LG (I don't know why I thought this; it's a failing on my part, and as soon as I thought about it I realized that it was silly to think he was still LG as his term started 10 years ago).

It's similar with the GG; I only know who David Johnston is because I've made a point of knowing it, he doesn't keep a high profile at all. His two immediate predecessors, Michaelle Jean and Adrienne Clarkson, maintained much higher profiles.

^^^previous
You give a good account of the event, thanks. It was nice to see the people of BC and Canada receive the Royal couple in such an enthusiastic manner. Just want to add that it was rather disappointing to see young Hamish(son of the Premier of BC) had his hands glued inside his trouser pockets. From his first appearance on the tarmac to waiting for their car to pull up at the end he seemed to struggle to keep his hands out of his pockets. Surely the youngsters are taught that it is poor manners, especially at such a grand occasion as personally meeting the Royal couple?

I've heard rumours that Hamish Marisen-Clark is something of a problem child, although how much those rumours have to do with a general dislike of his mother I can't say. Christy Clark isn't exactly known for following protocol herself though; you'll notice she was the only woman not wearing a hat, and there's a point in the procession where William and Kate were walking up the carpet to the stage, with most of the Canadian contingent staying behind them, but Clark made a beeline for the stage. I've seen a good amount of criticism on news articles for her having done that.
 
Great welcome! But none of these "loyal subjects" bowed or curtsied....
 
Yes, I noticed too that CC was the only woman who was not wearing a hat, also her rushing up to the stage. I also felt her choice of a bright red outfit was maybe too much as she was not the most important person present.

It seemed to me at times that people looked a bit uncertain as to what they were supposed to do , and when. As you say, they seemed to rush into things before everyone was ready. Lacking a bit of good organisation...


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