As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have not made any public appearances in weeks and weeks, it’s funny (to me) that there has been a flurry of activity with the parceling-out of details for their Canadian trip. It seems like every few days, we get some “breaking news” about this Canadian trip and how it’s going to be so epic and special and Canada is going to love them and they’re going to work so hard, you guys. We’ve heard it all before! As we saw from their Indian-Bhutan trip, the Cambridges are really just using their “royal tours” to go on taxpayer-funded vacations interspersed with a few begrudging public events. Today we got the firm dates on the Canada trip: they’ll arrive on Saturday, September 24th and they’ll leave on October 1st. A week in Canada… with their kids, Charlotte and George. So far, all of the firm plans for the trip are just some stops by some vacation locales.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – along with Prince George and Princess Charlotte – will spend a week bear spotting and visiting rainforests in Canada next month. Kensington Palace has released the family-of-four’s itinerary, which runs from Saturday 24th September until Saturday 1st October 2016, and will see the royals visiting various family-friendly landmarks. The family will touch down in Victoria, British Columbia, on September 24th and journey to Vancouver the following day.
According to the itinerary, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be visiting an Indian reserve on their forthcoming – and highly anticipated – tour to Canada. William and Kate, who are expected to bring along their children, Prince George, three, and one-year-old Princess Charlotte, will travel to Bella Bella in British Columbia – home to the Heiltsuk people – as part of the week-long tour to the British realm. The couple will be basing themselves in Victoria or Vancouver, along with the childrens’ nanny, Maria Borrallo, before travelling off to a number of locations in Canada including Victoria, Great Bear Rainforest, Kelowna and Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, and Whitehorse and Carcross in Yukon.
The Great Bear Rainforest has been dubbed ‘the planet’s last large expanse of coastal temperate rain forest’ and is home to waterfalls, coastal gray wolves, grizzly bears, sea lions, and humpback whales. The rare, cream-colored Kermode bear, which is deemed to be sacred by the T’simshian people, also resides there. The family will no doubt enjoy some relaxing downtime in Kelowna, which lies in the heart of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, and is the largest city on Okanagan Lake. They will also stop by Whitehorse and Carcross, Yukon, which features a carving shed, the Carcross Visitor Information Centre, bakery/coffee shop, a restaurant and art gallery.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said the couple were ‘hugely excited’ about the trip.
‘It is an opportunity for them to see British Columbia and Yukon in more detail and get to know the territory and people on the west side of the country,’ they said. The western side of Canada is famed for its rugged wilderness and William and Kate are keen to spend as much time outdoors as possible.
[From The Daily Mail]
“William and Kate are keen to spend as much time outdoors as possible” – as you do on vacation to a particularly scenic part of the world. If you read between the lines, it sounds like their first priority is working out all of their vacations spots in Canada, and then they’ll figure out some quickie “mental health” photo-ops to do later. The important thing is that they have a good time on their vacation, people. And just like the India-Bhutan trip, I’m wondering how many of these stops are going to be designated “private” and “no photos.” I can’t wait for Poor Jason to get into a series of fights with the reporters about access. It’s going to be so much fun!
Photos of Will & Kate’s 2011 Canadian tour, courtesy of WENN.
Leave a reply