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.
“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.
While I hope that they put more effort into the “work” portion of it, that trip sounds amazing, especially the description of the rain forest. Also, please God let Kate look appropriate. Now that we’ve solved the issues of hemlines and sky-high wedges, her hair is still an issue. Since we have confirmation she wants to be outside a lot, I expect to see ponytails and buns; not ringlets or endless photos of windblown hair in her face. And if Will could loosen up the pants in the crotch area, that’d be SPECTACULAR.
$10 (CDN) says we’ll see her flash her biscuit (again)
I’m with you. She hasn’t flashed on the North American continent in some time. She’s due.
Sucker’s bet!
The wedgie shoes are probably already packed 🙂 along with sausage curl extensions, ready to roll 🙂
Don’t forget the nude plastic looking Barbie feet shoes. And coat dresses just like the ones she owns already are being tailored as we speak.
Wedge shoes, skinny skinny jeans, striped top and OMG I think that Robin Hood type outfit from Bhutan might make another appearance!!
As an east-coast Canadian, I’m a bit jealous since I haven’t been to west-coast Canada. But I hate traveling so much – maybe someday.
Prairie girl here – for what it’s worth, I’ve been to both coasts and prefer the east!
I do love my east coast – it’s gorgeous. For the sake of a visit though, I think the west would be pretty awesome.
My late grandfather traveled all over Canada, as well as many other countries over the years (airforce career). He was part of the US/Canadian team tasked with finding Robert Peary’s cairn – supposedly he was credited with finding the north pole… though I believe in the end he (Peary) was off by a bit. I can’t imagine how amazing it was for him to have seen so many things over the years – but I definitely don’t have that kind of travel ambition. For him, I guess, it was work. But you wouldn’t believe the amount of souvenirs he brought back from his travels.
I prefer the east coast too but the spots they will visit are fabulous (I have lived on both coasts). I adore Victoria (much more than Vancouver) and Kelowna is spectacular. They obviously need a vacay after France, their life must be so exhausting (insert massive eye roll). The only thing I object to, as a taxpayer, is bringing these mooches over on our dollar. The only positive thing I can think of is that they will be essentially advertising our west coast when he pics get published. It would be interesting to see tourism numbers next year – will they actually go up?
My fellow Canadian Celebitchy friends, where is the best spot to travel to Canada?! I have only been to central Canada and the falls. Mid western girl here.
As a Quebecker who adores traveling (and who has a very close friend in BC) I often feel bad that I haven’t yet gone out west to take it all in. From what I’ve heard, the Rockies are spectacular, and it’s my dream to one day stay at the Chateau Lake Louise. We do have a beautiful country!
YESS! That’s exactly what I want to see. I want to see Banff in AB, and I want to see bears in BC as well as the Rockies. It’s just so stunning, and so different from NS. I mean, we have bears. But I’ve yet to see one, and they’re just run of the mill black bears for the most part. We drove up to Annapolis Valley last week from our SW NS town- and even just going from there to the valley is such a change. You start to see a ton more hills and little cliffs, and the banks get a lot more red. Just a couple hours of driving brings in such a different scene.
We’re exceptionally lucky to live here.
The rockies are beautiful. I visited Banff last week and hiked around a couple of lakes. Absolutely beautiful. @ Erinn someday I want to come out your way. Its my dream to visit the Annapolis Valley and see the east coast.
I lived on the west coast for 40 years and then moved to outside Kelowna. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have seen Van Island and the rain forests of the coast. I could see the whales from the bedroom window of the B&B we stayed at. You can go down to the docks and buy a 5 foot halibut, right out of the ocean. The rain forest is awe-inspiring beyond belief. I was in an old growth forest called Cathedral Grove on Van Island. There is a tree in there that was growing before Columbus arrived here. It’s roped off so you can’t touch it, and I really wanted to just touch something that old, but the sign says that oils in your skin can damage the tree, especially with 200,000+ visitors a year touching it. You can turn over any rock on the ocean shore and see little black crabs race everywhere and the rocks in the water at the shore are covered with different coloured starfish and urchins. If you like collecting seashells, wow. If your child likes collecting them, you might not want to go. I also explored a peat moss bog with trees that were 400 YO, and no taller than me. I need to go to Bella Coola next. I want to see the totem poles. They are legendary works of ancient art and story telling. If you get the chance, explore Vancouver Island.
I’m an Alberta mountain girl, and I would recommend Jasper. The skies are wide open, there are more lakes and it is VAST. Banff is quaint, but it is commercial. Waterton is also super gorgeous. They are all a few hours away from each other (Waterton to the south, then Banff, then past the Columbia Icefields, then up to Jasper. Any of the old CN hotels (Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise and Jasper Park Lodge) are historic and very cool.
The BC side of the mountains are spectacular too. Kelowna is a silicon- filled party town with beautiful wineries. I prefer Osoyoos – it has more personality and the views are spectacular. Emerald Lake is a pretty famous spot too.
As a west coaster I am jealous I haven’t been to Nova Scotia – or anywhere in the maritimes. It is definitely on my bucket list!!! Vancouver is a mini LA, but with more Asians and less movie stars heehee. I would suggest to also go to the Kelowna region and Victoria if you would like to visit. Take a cruise to Alaska and the Yukon is beautiful too!
I concur, I live in Victoria and it’s awesome. Well, it rains all winter but the other three seasons are fabulous.
Same here. I just wish it wasn’t so outrageously expensive to fly within Canada. I live in Toronto and a flight alone to Vancouver costs anywhere between $600-$1,000. Not to mention the crazy hotel prices. I usually end up going to Europe or the west coast of the US!
I did go to Calgary several years ago (my bro married a woman from there and that’s where the wedding was). We did carve out a day to go to Banff, which was spectacular.
I did make it to the East Coast a few years back – 4 days in Newfoundland and a whirlwind 24 hours in Nova Scotia. I can’t wait to get back!
I feel you. I’m in alberta and earlier this year I took a trip to Iceland and it was cheaper than going to Nova Scotia. Too expensive.
I just know they will piss the press off just like they did last time. Wonder who she’ll flash this time
I’ve read that Kate had a list of places she wanted to vivat and that’s what makes up their ‘tours’ plus she loved Canada the last time so not surprised she wanted to go back. Am sure they only do them cause she wants a holiday as she seems to b the only one that looks like she wants to be there. He just sulks.
I’m just praying the two dolts don’t insult the Indians in the reserve like they have insulted people on every other continent. Maybe she’ll say, “How interesting!” when hearing about battles and slaughters of indigenous people.
I can’t remember the last time someone referred to us as “Indians”..maybe they are going to hang out at the local Baked Oven a terrific East Indian restaurant. As for First Nations Reserves..I hope they go to one that is illustrative of the social economic devastation of colonialism 90 percent unemployment, children swept up by Child and Family Services, 15 people to a mold infested house, no running water toilet facilities are a bucket and food is horrendously expensive, medical services is understaffed unequipped to deal with everyday medical emergencies. As Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip said at his final concert, “we were trained our entire lives to ignore, trained our entire lives to hear not a word of what’s going on up there.” I hope they see the reality but I doubt it..
First Nations
Hey Rosalee didn’t you love that Gord put Trudeau on the spot to get his ass in gear and do something about all the problems for First Nations Reserves. I remember seeing a pic of tide on the shelf for $36 there no joke, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
@Rosalee, I know that Indians is not used anymore. I should have put it in quotes. I study shamanism, a spiritual practice of indigenous people throughout the world, and I have great respect for those who still practice the reverence of the spirit, the earth and all of its inhabitants.
These two are sure to insult someone..
@Sarah, the term “Indian” is not generally used in Canada for First Nations people, but it’s widely used in the US still. It depends on the person.
Thank you, Rosalee. Cringe-worthy!
They’ll have a fancy celeb filled dinner, where if there are proceeds after the cost of throwing it, those proceeds will go to mental health charities. Fixed their problem.
I am surprised they aren’t squeezing in a trip to LA as well. She, especially, loves those glitzy, start studded events. It will also be interesting to see the change in reception the receive from the Canadian people. Even if as whole Canadaian people don’t follow the daily coming and goings of the Royal Family, they were at peak popularity and goodwill during their last visit (coming off the high of the wedding) but they seem to have squandered that. Maybe that’s why they feel compelled to bring the kids?
Sort of OT – As I was watching the Olympics wrap up yesterday I went to Buzzfeed and saw a quiz titled “What % Keen Are You?” and the accompanying picture was of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) on Parks and Rec but what made me laugh was she was wearing Kate’s trademark white shirt with horizontal navy stripes and sausage curls. Maybe #PoorJason gives them that quiz any time the have a new initiative to accurately gauge how keen they are.
Kate wearing that shirt cracks me up. It’s a Breton sailor shirt, commissioned by Napoleon to celebrate French naval victories over the British. And it’s the future Queen of Great Britan’s go-to outfit, along with American-style trousers.
I wonder in Maria gets an off day to tours the cities she travels to. You know, shop, lunch, museums. I mean, she has to have off days, right?
It’s a whopping week? They can’t leave the kids at home with Nanny Maria for a 1 week work trip? They are ridiculous. I cut them slack for so long-and now I am just completely over them and their terrible work ethic.
Trudeau made a point of inviting the children. No doubt he wants a photo op of his family meeting the Cambridge family.
He did? LOL The man is media savvy, no?
And clearly the Cambridges are not going to refuse a free holiday where everything is being paid for by someone else.
Is there EVER a photo op he’d miss? http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/marketing-justin-trudeau/
What work trip? I read the itinerary of their trip and this is definitely a family vacation (and a spectacular one, too, since the places they are visiting, like Haida Gwaii – formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands – are unbelievably gorgeous).
My question with these two is always, what is the purpose of the trip? Is it to promote business ties, cultural ties, to encourage British tourism to the host country?
They send those two to either promote ties (India/Bhutan) or keep the countries for which the Queen is head of state on side. For the latter, no one would send them to the real waverers like Jamaica, that requires big guns like Harry. Canada is not going to become a republic any time soon and has amazing scenery, friendly locals, and obliging politicians. And they’ve been to Australia and NZ more recently.
+1000000
This is without a doubt a vacation with a bit of “work” sprinkled in to make it appear justified. Ugh…what garbage….
Why is it automatically a “vacation” just because they’ll be in a scenic part of the country? They’re going to be travelling, meeting locals, making speeches, etc. on a daily basis. It’s not the most vital work on the planet, but it’s the same work that all royals are expected to do when abroad: go somewhere nice, shake hands, smile for the cameras.
I’m not saying they’ll blow us away with their hectic schedule or anything, but this fits the standard definition of a royal tour. I was just at a tourist site in Ontario, and there were several photo frames commemorating a visit by the Earl and Countess of Wessex in 2013. They and the locals seemed to be enjoying themselves in the photos. That’s pretty much it. With the possible exception of military sites and charities, it’s always inherently pointless for royals to visit a place, no matter who they are. So if their visits are going to be meaningless no matter what, who cares if they go somewhere they might have gone to on their own anyway? It would still be a waste of Canadian money if they were visiting an industrial park in Longueuil or a glue factory in Timmins.
I’m sure the bears, whales and sea lions have a lot of mental health issues and would be keen on discussing them with the Dolittles.
LOL
So visiting those areas is not just about the scenery. It’s under significant environmental pressure from loggers and natural resource extractors and highlighting the natural environment on a global scale is actually pretty important. I’m also hoping their visit will highlight indigenous rights issues in that area. There’s a long and bitter history there.
Do you really think they care about environmental issues and indigenous rights issues? Remember, this is Will and Kate we’re talking about.
Give. William’s work on African wildlife, I’d say he does care about those issues.
They have never set up anything specifically for Canadian wildlife preservation or First Nations issues, so unless he announces a new foundation with money down to help these issues, this is a massive waste of time for Canadians.
They had better read their briefing notes if indigenous issues come up. I’ve had posh people in the UK talk to me unironically about “red Indians” in the context of Canadian tourism and express incredulity that the term “Eskimo” is no longer in favour.
Wow. Inuit has been the accepted term in Canada since the 80s because I recall learning it in grade school. Same with First Nations. Americans may use the other terms, but only Canadians trying to be ignorant do over here.
Kate will say “How interesting,” and William will ask if he can hunt a grizzly. That’s how aware these two dolts are.
Since this is a primarily BC tour I’m not surprised they’re coming to Kelowna (where I live). The Okanagan is a renowned wine-producing region, and if they come at the end of their week they should be just in time for the beginning of the Fall wine festival. I’m sure the kids will be left with Maria while the Cambridges do a wine tour. The wineries are probably salivating over the international press this will give them.
That all said, @Canadian is right that BC is fraught with land and environmental issues that they can hopefully bring some attention to. It’ll be interesting to see how Premier Christie Clark shills for LNG and Northern Gateway as she always manages to.
*woop woop* Kelowna represent!!
It’s probably about time we stopped describing Commonwealth nations, even if they do retain Her Maj as head of state, as “British” realms, dontchathink?
Thanks Sixer, I caught that too. We have a relationship with Britain, we are not a British realm!
Hellooo Sixer, didn’t see you yesterday, the Swiddles site was bereft of your witty repartee. Hope you had a good weekend, and weren’t overcome by the loony lefties and their equally loony counterparts. I am joining the “World Has Gone Mad” party!
On the subject of the Commonwealth countries, my brother used to say he wouldn’t swear loyalty to a Queen he never voted for. I am with him on that, the only benefit to being a part of that was the High Court, on occasion! Certainly not the privilege of sending our best and brightest to be slaughtered in battles at the whim of gormless Generals. Old wounds still fester. Of course the Buckets have no room for anything of substance on their freeby jaunts.
What do you mean sixer about the commonwealth countries? Or were you referring to our province name “British Columbia”? 🙂
And antipodean, you don’t “swear a loyalty” to the queen, members subscribe to the Commonwealth’s values and principles outlined in the Commonwealth Charter. It’s actually a good thing for smaller counties dealing with poverty and limited economic growth. Each state is free and equal and it provides some security for struggling counties as I see it 🙂
Lbliss – I’m referring to the Fail article: it calls Canada a “British realm”, which it is not. I am British, BTW. I am saying our newspapers should know better by now. Mind you, it’s the Fail. I suppose we should be grateful it doesn’t say “when Bill and Kate go to visit some colonials”!
Antipodean – ha. I was preserving produce ALL DAY. My freezer is now full. As are my jars!
I’ve always thought the Fail and its readers (generally) really mourned the loss of EMPIRE. After all, hard to feel smug if you don’t have one, I guess.
Half the time, mazzie, I don’t think they even know they’re doing it. Clearly, it takes generations to finally rid the notion of exceptionalism from the national consciousness. I hate all that stuff, whether it’s Britain or anyone else, so my radar hones right in!
…but it is a realm. One of the 15 with HM as head of state.
A realm is any territory that has a monarchical(sp?) system, but is physically separate from the Kingdom of it’s Sovereign. The 15 realms of the UK are physically separate from the UK, have full legislative independence etc, BUT the Queen is their head of state.
It’s right there in her full titles….Elizabeth the second, by the grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland AND HER REALMS….
The DM calling them British realms isn’t advocating full on ‘colonial’ status on them. There is a distinct legal difference between a realm and a colony.
Ex-colonial countries/subjects that changed to realms know the difference and being a realm is far, FAR better thing than being a colony.
Btw…not saying being a realm is the best way to be as every country should be 100% free and not be a realm of other countries and thus beholden to them in any way.
I caught that and it irritates me greatly. Canada is not longer a colony and with the 1937 Statute of Westminster and 1982 repatriation of the Constitution, the British Royal Family is purely symbolic.
Will and Kate are not going to have any impact on Canadian mental health issues (Bell Canada has a text for mental day.. What are the chances they know about that) and the First Nations people I am sure will be happy to see the direct descendants of their oppressors who set up the reserve system.
No one really gives a shit about them in Canada. They are as relevant as the Kardashians and it is telling that Canadians need to be reminded in press articles every time royals visit that the Queen is still the head of state. Sure most Canadians will be polite and won’t boo them, but that’s about it.
It is a realm in that it is a constitutional monarchy. It isn’t a British realm and hasn’t been since independence in the 30s. Although I suppose you could call it that on a technicality up until the last remaining ties with the UK parliament were severed in the 70s or 80s or whenever it was.
Y’know? Calling it a British realm implies some sense of continued ownership. That’s what I’m objecting to, LAK.
Canada is not a British anything. Two, entirely separate, nation states choose to have the same person as head of state. There is no belonging of one of those states to the other.
Aaaaaaaand, just to add to my irritation, here is a post sent today from a UK MP, tweeting to call Commonwealth nations competing at the Olympics the “British Empire”.
http://twitter.com/HeatherWheeler/status/767756321219379201
Kill me now.
And it was the Fail that used the term, ‘Indian Reserve’. Eejits.
And wow! That guy included the ‘thirteen colonies’ in his British Empire gold count. Eejits everywhere!
Please and thanks.
As a Canadian I would prefer they weren’t coming. So much wasted taxpayer money. Trudeau will love this. Another reason for this dolittle prime minister to go on a taxpayer funded vacation. I wonder if he will keep his shirt on? This whole thing is so annoying.
As a staunch Liberal, I get very defensive about Justin. All prior prime ministers have had some member of the BRF visit and they entertained them. I always dislike hosting the royals because I agree with you – they are a waste of our taxer dollars, but Justin is not doing anything unusual or inappropriate.
You may think he does little – not sure exactly what you think he should have done and hasn’t but I disagree – have you seen how our current cabinet looks – instead of the white men’s club we are actually being represented by people who are very diverse – he kept his campaign promise to have half be women, etc. He has also been working pretty hard on the foreign policy front after that sour puss Harper left, and I was so thrilled to see him walk in the Pride in Montreal. As someone who has LGBTQ family members, seeing your PM participate makes me very proud. Seeing him at the airport welcoming Syrian refugees was also a highlight. The criticism that he took his shirt off on vacation – big whoop. And he takes photos and has a very active social media – good for him and for us. I like having photos and updates regularly and seeing him engage with the voters directly like that.
I’d like him to stop marching in Pride parades and start actually working on the LGBTQQ file.
I find the reaction to Trudeau’s social media-related photo-ops to be very generational. Older generations (Silent, Boomer, GenX) seem to hate it while those younger (Millennials, GenZ) don’t seem to care one way or the other. It’s interesting to say the least: http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/marketing-justin-trudeau/
Also, best picture of a Trudeau with the monarch, ever: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/12/trudeau-to-meet-queen-elizabeth-38-years-after-sensational-pierre-pirouette.html
Vauvert Canada is currently one of the biggest arms exporters to Saudi Arabia, no ? JT actually came and INCREASED arms exports to SA. So while he is shaking the hands of Syrian refugees at the airport he is passing AK47s to the Saudi government with the other.
If you are a real liberal then you need to consider the entire story before waxing lyrical on the virtues of JT.
He is better than past politicians, but he is no paragon. He is driven by PR and this trip for the Cambridges is a PR driven vacation for them. One glorified nice vacation for the Cambridges and one lovely photo-op for JT, which will no doubt earn him some more pats on the backs by his fans.
When Petite Pierre keeps his shirt on and stops posing for selfies and doing photo ops, I’ll agree with you, Vauvert. He and “help me” Sophie are all about the optics. Nothing matters, only that it looks good. Case in point the most diverse cabinet governent has had EVER! That’s great, but are they the most qualified for the job? Did they get the porfolio on merit or merely because they tick the boxes on his diversity checklist?
One this for sure, he and the wife will be posing for their lives when Will and Kate are here!
Edward and Sophie just visited portions of Western Canada at the end of June, including areas devastated by natural disasters. The W&K trip smells like pure PR for W&K and Trudeau.
For once nota I completely agree with you. It’s a vacation and a photo op for the Canadian PM. People need to bring him down a notch or two because the world has been swooning from his koolaid for a bit long.
You know what would make a great photo op? The Buckets actually meeting and interacting with some of the Canadians who sponsored Syrian refugees, the refugees themselves, and the various agencies who are actively helping them to get acclimated to and resettled in Canada. Refugees often suffer from mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and adjustment and conduct disorders. Arguably this sort of event would be right up the Buckets’ alley, so to speak. But this will never happen thanks to the Brexit vote, I think.
Just to play devil’s advocate, it doesn’t surprise me they’re not doing anything in August. It seems like many Euro royals go on vacation during the month. I do hope on their visit to the First Nations they bring a spotlight to the recent suicides that have happened in many of the communities. It’d be a very good tie in to their mental health focus.
They had their holiday in July. It seems they are having August too.
The British Royal Family are the last people who should be pretending to be sympathetic about the suicide epidemic on First Nation reserves. Their ancestors created this problem. There was no reserve system in place when the French were in control of Canada and obviously the Metis were the exemplification of that policy.
The British came in and entered into the treaties which screwed over generations of natives and let them stay on the worst parcels of land. Kowtowing to the descendants of those who initiated that policy is not something they will be interested in doing.
Unless Will and Kate announce they are donating millions to help solve the issue, saying a few meaningless platitudes will be offensive.
I would love that too but sadly don’t see it happening.
Welcome to British Columbia and my part of the world! How exciting they will be visiting my city, Vancouver and my adoptive city of Kelowna 🙂 Hopefully our prime minister will have a few photo ops if they visit. I love they are really taking advantage of our beautiful outdoors!! It really showcases our strong points, natural beauty being #1 with a volatile real estate market close behind at #2 lol. Welcome royals!
Lots of outdoor events = pack the jeggings ‘n wedges!
Hugely excited and really keen!
LOL……………….yes, brace yourself for skin tight jeggings and ugly wedges. Plus crazy open mouthed weird behavior and hair flying everywhere.
The real question is this: is she sending an advance team to check out the areas they’ll be visiting so that her wardrobe is coordinated with the local scenes? It worked so well for her on her last big outing…
update for you from our national news channel – an entourage wast sent to Bella Bella in early August to scout the place, so yes. And they described it as a chance to discuss environmental and first nations issues.
So check and check.
It’s completely normal for diplomatic visits to be preceded by a planning trip by the visitors’ staff. Some notes may have been taken with wardrobe in mind, but that’s hardly the main purpose of such a trip.
Vitriol W&K have earned.
When they came here 5 years ago, they were greeted by half the country cheering for them. I didn’t personally see them last time, but was kind of surprised at the goodwill I felt at them seeing Canada, and wanted them to enjoy it. This time around? Every time I look and Normal Bill and Kate, all I see is taxpayer dollars being spent. Granted, I usually see British taxpayer dollars, but this time Canadian too. This time around, it’s all about the cost to the hardworking. I’m kind of disgusted that we have to pay anything for them. It must drive you nuts across the pond, no?
Sourpuss! I’m excited for them to come. I saw them last time they were here and she is beautiful in person. Photos don’t do this woman justice. They were so down to earth and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. William has a great sense of humour esp about himself.
Do you remember any specific instances about William having a great sense of humor? I’m serious, because all that springs to my mind are put-downs, petulance, and general awkwardness in the humor department. It would be good to see another side to him.
Joanie,
You should be very excited as I know what a fan you are of her diet and workout routine!
Sarah, You know nothing about me. I’m not the only Joannie on here by the way. I have no idea what her diet or workout routine is either.
Aren’t you the Joannie whose always saying Kate doesn’t have an eating disorder because you are just as thin as she is? You just said how thin you are on another thread, no? Sorry if I have you confused with a different Joannie.
So someone saying they are as thin as she is and they don’t have an eating disorder makes that person knowledgable of her workout routine and diet? Why make that comment?
Joannie. There continue to be people who insist she must have such-and-such eating disorder because of X, Y, Z. That is why several sites now forbid discussion on her weight, and remove all of those comments, because they are tired of moderating the projecting.
This is why several royal-focused discussion sites have banned discussion on her weight (and Letizia’s). Due to the amount of projecting about eating disorders.
@Lady D: Every time they visit a country officially, that country’s taxpayers pick up the tab. We only supply the entourage.
Towards LAK’s comment about how funds the tours. I find it interesting (encouraging?) that those freedom of information requests keep taking place in the nations they visit. The one from the Australia and NZ trip was published iirc. I wonder how much Bhutan ponied up?
India and Bhutan did not pay for anything. That trip was not at an official invitation from the Government. The British taxpayers were on the hook for that one. For all of the whopping 370K GBP of it.
Is it really written that they’re going to visit an “Indian” reserve? Oh gosh! I can deal with Canada being described as part of the realms, but can we stop with the colonialism BS and talk about People of the First Nations? I certainly hope that they don’t just get a cute photo op next to an elder wearing traditional clothing and Haida sculptures. Indigenous people in BC have been very outspoken about environmental issues and about the respect of their lands, so that could be interesting…
Oh, she will. I also hope the BC Indigenous people protest during their visit.
There is a perfect photo of an “Idle No More” banner behind Prince Charles at his last visit to Winnipeg..oh how we danced..
Sorry for that one too, Arpeggi!
Capilano Bridge! See Capilano Bridge!
Usually I wouldn’t be excited about their trip, but I’m in America and I need as many distractions as possible in the news until the elections are over. The Olympics came through big time. Now US football season is starting. The Emmys soon after. The Royal tour. If Swoki can get pregnant in mid October I’ll be thrilled.
Capilano bridge made me laugh. There is one in Edmonton and it is a graffiti-ridden eyesore.
I am thrilled that the Duke and Duchess will be bringing media attention to the Great Beat Rain Forest! Only a few years ago, 95% of the Great Bear was going to be logged.
The area was placed under protection (well, 85% of it) only a few months ago, in Feb 2016!
Seriously! We almost lost it!
We have the First Nations of that area to thank, of course, for not giving up. They have also put a halt on the grizzly bear hunt in BC this year.
Photo op it up over there, please!
And come see BC people, you probably won’t want to leave though… 🙂
Is anyone else kind of excited to see her possible new face this week? They’re doing an engagement later this week and rumor has it at least a portion of this two month vacation was to refresh her face.
“To refresh her face”. I need to refresh my face too from all the yearlong stress.
Dragging two toddlers to Canada for a week and expecting them to cope with jet lag and the disruption to their routine caused by the time difference suggests that KP are looking for major positive publicity. Poor Maria will have to deal with it all as I doubt the Dolittles will be much help. They will be too busy enjoying themselves and having “private” outings at tax payers expense.
Don’t worry – Carole Middleton will get a taxpayer-funded vacation too to help Maria with the kids.
Of course, I forgot they can’t go anywhere without Carole. Silly me.
Small wonder they’re concentrating on Victoria (where I live) as there’s a huge ex-pat community of Brits here. I, for one, don’t give a rodent’s posterior about them and will assiduously avoid the downtown areas where they will likely perform even though I live in the downtown core.
Lazy wankers.
@Jaded & Veronica
howdy neighbours! (Metchosin)
Hey there bcgirl!! Was just at the Metchosin Cafe last week for lunch!
sweet! Hope you had a caesar!
how cool to know you’re from the island, I’ve appreciated many of your posts.
I live in Victoria and I’m not ashamed to say I will be definitely lchecking it out when they arrive! So exciting!
Crissy and Kitty, regarding your Highgrove question from the Eugenie thread. Harry cannot inherit Highgrove, it is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The moment HM passes, Charles becomes king and William gets full control of the Duchy of Cornwall. If Charles wants Harry to have Highgrove, he has to purchase it for Harry now with private funds.
This comment appeared in an odd place, so something may be up with the threads.
Wow. Harry works twice as hard as William. I really do hope Harry gets Clarence House or a huge apartment at Buckingham Palace when he has kids and a wife.
Unlikely. Apartments at BP are usually 4 room suites (2 bedroom).
The rumors around Charles wanting to dump Buckingham Palace back on the people make sense. He loves Clarence House and wouldn’t want to leave there to move to BP anyway. Dump the crumbling, historic nightmare on the country to restore after decades of poor maintenance by the Windsor family.
Harry might end up with space in KP, and a smaller house on Sandringham. He will not own any of it, and will only be allowed to live there as long as the monarch (whomever it is) decrees. If he angers his brother the king, he can be rendered homeless immediately. With $15 million or so in the bank, he’ll be fine.
Ugh but I think The Queen and Charles will definitely take care of Harry. He is popular and no doubt be the face of the monarchy since William doesn’t want to be King at all.
They have to take care of Harry by leaving him private money when they pass. It does not matter what living arrangements they set up for him while they’re alive. If they house him in property controlled by the monarch (either a Crown Estate property, or private like Sandringham or Balmoral), when/if William becomes king, he can throw his younger brother out with nothing.
Charles could decide to leave Balmoral and Sandringham to Harry instead of William, but due to the inheritance taxes that will never happen. I think those taxes are dodged somehow when it is a monarch-to-monarch inheritance of private property. This probably makes Sixer apoplectic.
It is exempt, NOTA! It’s a trust. Here you go:
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2007/11/19/balmoral-buyout/
Likewise, when the Duke of Westminster recently died, his heir also paid tuppence:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/inheritance-tax-why-the-new-duke-of-westminster-will-not-pay-billions
And yes, it does wind me up. If they don’t want estates broken up because heritage, then heritage means access to the public. That’s how I see it.
Thank you, Sixer. That was a great article. It shows what I thought: Charles cannot leave those properties to Harry, they have to go monarch to monarch to escape tax.
There was a rumor running around, like the BP one, that Charles wants to “give” Balmoral to the people of Scotland as a national park. Have you heard anything of that?
Let’s face it Canada in the fall is the best time ever to go and I bet the Daily mail is positively salivating along with Katie Nicoll
So glad to hear they are not coming near to the east coast. Another vacay, this time to enjoy the wonderful Canadian fall. Thank you Mr. Prime Minister for the awesome initiative.
When I saw the photos in this article, I thoigh, “William looks so good” 😮
But then I realized that the phtos were from 2010….
Anyone else find it strange they are not going to Prince George, BC? Kinda surprising they wouldn’t George.
Not surprising as W&K have always publicly given more attention and praise to Diana 2.0
They really shouldn’t announce anything until all plans are finalized. It seems amateurish & cobbled together to do otherwise.
I live in Victoria BC and my city is going APE S*** over this.
I can only image the crazy traffic this is going to cause.