Canada Visit 2005

Edward visits the Maritimes

HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex visited the Eastern provinces of Canada to beginning his week long visit.  He visited the cities of Saint John, Charlottetown  The Prince was mostly in the region to congratulate achievers of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Prince Edward arrived in Canada to a bumper schedule and wasted no time in setting out to business.  The first part of the Earl of Wessex's visit was a solo tour of the Eastern Maritime region.  He began by visited Prince Edward Island and attending several civic functions.  Prince Edward stopped to talk to a number of the well wishes that lined the streets to greet him.  One of them Sharon Larter, was dressed as Queen Charlotte, the city's namesake and ancestor of the Earl of Wessex.  "This is the third time we've met," said Larter. "I'd given him a tour of Province House twice and the last time with his wife, Sophie. It was really nice to see him. He is such a lovely person and he is so casual and down to earth and he is so handsome, just like his brother."   She noted the prince talked about her costume and how warm it must be wearing it in the 26-degree Celsius heat and "was looking well for my age having been his ancestor and having 15 children".

The Earl of Wessex began his whirlwind visit to Charlottetown with his only public appearance, a stop a City Hall. He was greeted by Mayor Clifford Lee, who took him on a  guided tour of City Hall before making their way to Kent Street. The prince was walked along a rope barricade to the fire station where he was treated by Charlottetown Police Choir who sang songs of the Island.

" Charlottetown has a real connection to the royal family," said Major Clifford Lee. "(It) is named for Queen Charlotte Sophie, wife of King George III and mother of Prince Edward, for whom Prince Edward Island and you sir are named. Today's visit by His Royal Highness will indeed be a highlight of Charlottetown's 150th celebrations."  He was given a present from the city by youngster Rachel Loggie.  Prince Edward gave the shy little girl a hug and thanked the about 400 people for his warm welcome.  

He said, "It is a great privilege to be back here again and to renew my acquaintance with the Island after which I was named, I believe," to which the crowd laughed. "It was a bit of a shock coming across on ancestor who appears to be alive. It is a great pleasure to be here and to . . . help you celebrate the 150th anniversary of the City of Charlottetown. I hope you have a very successful year and I hope that in other ways the sun continues to shine on you."

After the reception, the Prince stopped to talk with a small group of Second World War veterans and members of the 150th celebrations committee before making his way along Kent Street where he stopped to shake hands, chat and wave at his admirers before departing for an event at the Prince Edward Island Regiment. The Earl of Wessex is also to attend a luncheon with 48 invited guests before presenting the Duke of Edinburgh Awards to 28 youth from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

The largest award ceremony the Earl of Wessex attended was in Saint Johns.  Prince Edward presented awards to 75 people from four Canadian provinces.  The event was also attended by Lt. Gov. Herménégilde Chiasson.   Edward told them that their completion of the award was " a fantastic achievement, and you have all conducted yourselves impeccably.  Today is about you, the achievers. Feel proud of what you have done and, when you leave this room a little later walk a few inches taller. I know some of your friends will say, 'The Duke of Edinburgh Awards? Oh, I could do that.' The difference is that you have actually done it. Well done."

Prince Edward put the group at ease by showing a soft, congenial and humourous side.  He peering playfully around taller winners to smile at shorter ones and craning his neck exaggeratedly at one particularly tall honouree.  He later met all of the recipients, exchanging small talk over h'oer douerves with a glass of ginger ale in one hand.  Everyone who attended, from former MP and Saint John Mayor Elsie Wayne to the recipients themselves, appreciated his natural charm.

The Earl joked that two of the recipients would be receiving their awards after they completed the programme several years ago.  Const. Mike Horgan of the Saint John city police achieved his award 23 years ago, but he was deployed to British Columbia with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other commitments kept him away from an awards ceremony until now.  Mr Hogan noted that " It's a feeling of completion after many years."

Susie Mallet (22) who gave the bilingual address commented that " It was great. "It's not every day you get to meet a member of the Royal Family."  Royal watcher, Mrs. Wayne managed to avoid protocol and security officer to talk to the Prince   She noted that the Earl didn't raise an eyebrow.  "I found him down to earth and very friendly," Mrs. Wayne said. "I told him how much I enjoyed previous visits to here by the Royal Family, and he thanked me for coming over to speak to him.  He was very pleasant."

Steve Wight, president of the New Brunswick board of the  Duke of Edinburgh Awards noted that the Earl of Wessex is " very personable.  You could see not only that he is royalty, but that he is a human being as well. He was relaxed and he put everybody else at ease. My biggest joy as an event organizer was standing up on the stage and looking down at the recipients in the audience and seeing their joy and amazement. From that perspective, it was phenomenal. It gave me chills. To be honest, I don't think most recipients really knew what hit them until they sat back down in their seat with their award. Then, you could see they were awed."

The next day Prince Edward visited Tatamagouche to the delight for one particular royal watcher.  "We've been looking forward to this all week," Debbie George of Dartmouth said moments after meeting a relaxed and casually dressed Earl of Wessex during his afternoon visit to Tatamagouche, Colchester County.  She noted  "He's handsome ... I think he looks like his father," Ms. George said, cradling her smiling and cooing grandson, who seemed to enjoy the attention they were getting. "He just looked like he fit in with everyone."

The Earl attended a function designed to shine a spotlight on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award program at the Tim Horton Children's Camp.  Almost 200 people, between the ages of 14 and 26 attended the invitation-only event.  Prince Edward joined in with the activities, slapping his thigh in time to lively fiddle music that several young program participants provided.  Prince Edward was also inducted him into the Order of Good Cheer, established by Samuel de Champlain  The order, possibly North America's oldest social club in 1606, to make life more bearable for settlers at Port Royal.  Upon been sworn in the prince promise to have a good time, remember the province fondly, speak highly of his visit and come back soon.

Menya Jolicoeur (15) thought it was " pretty cool" the prince would spend so much time with him and other program participants.  "It's neat to have such an important figure here and a great experience for anyone our age to meet a prince," he said.

Prince Edward also dug into a launch of hot dogs, hamburgers and salads along with five young people.  The prince shared many stories and laughs with his lunch partners, who later said they covered a range of topics from flying and animals to challenges and home.  "He seemed to enjoy us as much as we enjoyed him," Kathryn said.  In a short speech, Prince Edward praised the fact that participants from all over the province had come together to meet and exchange stories. " I think today we've had quite a lot of fun, " he said.

" What you'll really discover from all of this is that if you can meet the challenges of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, then I can assure you you will meet the challenges of anything else that life will throw you in the future."