Rookie royals revel in Canada Day celebrations, honour troops in Afghanistan

OTTAWA – He arrived at Friday’s Canada Day celebrations heralded as the country’s future king, yet when thousands of Canadians erupted into cheers in front of Prince William and his new wife Kate, the rookie royals didn’t seem to know exactly what to do.

They smiled, sometimes sheepishly – and the cheers grew louder. Whenever Kate waved, it seemed her adoring fans would burst with joy. It took Prime Minister Stephen Harper to calm the crowd down – at least until he mentioned the couple by name once more.

Even fans were at a loss to explain their affections.

“I just love them,” gushed Kirsten Bourke, 23, from Nova Scotia. “I don’t know why.”

Friday was a full-on, no-holds-barred display of puppy love for the newlyweds, an infatuation with a couple of starry-eyed kids from England, that Buckingham Palace is keen to see transformed into a lasting relationship with the Commonwealth.

The nine-day tour of Canada by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, their first official trip as a married couple, is being analysed right down to the feathers on Kate’s fascinators to see if they have the mettle for the rigours of royalty.

William’s grandmother, “the Queen of Canada,” is watching closely, he acknowledged in his Canada Day remarks.

“The Queen has taken a great interest in the themes and program of our tour, and looks forward to following our progress as it unfolds,” William said in a speech peppered with textbook French.

She has warm, abiding memories of her own visit last year, he added, before describing Kate’s own interest in Canada, her pilot grandfather having trained in Alberta. The couple’s itinerary, which includes Quebec, P.E.I. and the Northwest Territories, ends next week in Calgary.

“Catherine and I are also thrilled and excited at the prospect of the next eight days, especially being part of the Canadian family,” William said.

“It will be an adventure that we’ll never forget.”

Family was also on the minds of royal watchers on Friday, which would have been the 50th birthday of William’s mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in a tragic car accident in August 1997.

“Happy birthday, Diana,” several people shouted as Prince William and Kate made their way up to Parliament Hill.

“I think she would been very proud of him,” said Mary McAllister, 53, of Toronto, as she watched the couple work the crowds via a massive television screen set up in the middle of a downtown street.

“He is so like her. He looks so like her.”

But where Diana had a habit of outshining William’s father, Prince Charles, this royal duo seems determined to make their coming-out a tandem effort, even if they do work the crowds in their own distinct and separate ways.

“They are graceful, they are majestic. They really represent highness, let’s put it this way,” said a 55-year-old man named Jean, who declined to give his last name.

As they make their way through the throngs, each royal makes eye contact and engages, if only for a moment, with each person they meet. She lingers longer in the crowds, often turning to discover the rest of the party waiting for her up ahead. Sometimes they call out to one another to introduce a particular person, or – in Kate’s case – to take another bouquet of flowers.

William drew laughs Friday when he quickly donned a proffered pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the harsh midday sun.

Before the early-afternoon festivities had even started, some spectators who had been holding their spots for hours prior to the event succumbed to the blistering Ottawa heat. At least one person was taken away on a wheeled stretcher.

Greg Kolz, of Ottawa, spent the night in his spot on the Hill, a tactic that proved well worth it when he got the chance to speak briefly with William when the day’s festivities were over. The fact he briefly succumbed to the heat and fatigue didn’t much matter.

“The only unfortunate blemish on my record, I suppose, is that I accidentally wished the prince a Merry Christmas, to which he said that’s happened to him,” Kolz said.

“And that was brilliant.”

Earlier in the day, cannon fire and the scream of Canadian fighter jets heralded their arrival via landau on Parliament Hill as the estimated 300,000 people welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Canada’s birthday party.

The din and smoke from a 21-gun salute filled the streets outside Parliament as Governor General David Johnston inspected the honour guard with the skirl of bagpipes in the background. The prince and his wife stood alongside the Centennial Flame as the band played the national anthem and “God Save the Queen.”

Kate was resplendent in Canadian colours – a cream dress by Reiss, complete with the Queen’s Maple Leaf brooch, and a brilliant red fascinator by Sylvia Fletcher at Lock and Co. – while William wore an understated blue suit with red tie.

“Kate, you’re beautiful,” one spectator bellowed. “Will and Kate,” others chanted.

The brooch, on loan from the Queen, is a diamond brooch in the form of a maple leaf that was first worn by Princess Elizabeth on her first visit to Canada in 1951, and again last year on Canada Day.

Two Canadian CF-18 fighters soared overhead, followed by the familiar sight of the Snowbirds air demonstration team as their CT-114 Tudor jets left a sprawling blossom of contrails in the sky over Parliament Hill.

Once the guests of honour were on the dais, the prime minister welcomed them warmly as he urged the sprawling crowd to celebrate Canada’s 144th birthday with pride in its accomplishments and aspirations for its future.

“I thought we had a big crowd last year, but I think this is the biggest one ever,” Harper grinned.

“I see a country that is brimming with confidence, peaceful, prosperous, strong and united, a Canada that’s proud of its long history and secure in its present, a Canada that will accept no limits, no bounds, and no ceiling to its great future – the best country in the world.”

The royal pair returned to the Hill for a low-key appearance Friday night as a huge crowd gathered for the grand finale to Canada Day.

William and Kate walked in via the east side of the VIP section, visible in person to only a few, but seen via giant television screens by thousands.

At that point, the crowd seemed briefly more intent on focusing their cell phones and cameras on the couple than on the concert.

Kate’s signature tresses were swept up as she wore a purple V-neck dress by British-based designer Issa. William wore a dark blazer with a white button-down shirt open at the collar.

The royal pair smiled and chatted with each other after they took their seats in the front row while a drum troupe performed on stage.

They were the centre of attention once more when Newfoundland’s superstar band Great Big Sea took the stage and gave them yet another shout-out.

“Put your hands up, put your hands up,” said lead singer Alan Doyle. “We’re in the presence of royalty.”

Even William and Kate obliged, clapping along with the east-coast standard “Lukey’s Boat.”

The royal couple didn’t stay in the audience long, heading instead to a balcony high above the city to enjoy an unimpeded view of the annual fireworks display.

Earlier Friday, Prince William and Kate gave Siddhartha Kumar, 33, a thrill as he accepted a handheld Canadian flag from the pair after taking the oath of Canadian citizenship.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney described the ceremony, which took place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in nearby Gatineau, Que., as a historic occasion.

“You will (take the oath) for the first time in the history of Canadian citizenship in the presence of one of her heirs, who we hope will – in the fullness of time – become one of her successors, as the King of Canada.”

As he accepted his flags, Kumar said the prince asked where he was from. When he replied India, Kate exclaimed she was planning to go there too. For Kumar, having the royal couple preside over his new citizenship was even better than icing on the cake.

“To be in this special ceremony – it is like the whole cake is all icing.”

But the real highlight of the day came when William thanked the afternoon crowd of more than 300,000 people for their warm welcome to Canada.

He hailed the sacrifices and successes of the men and women of the Canadian Forces, who are in the midst of winding down their combat mission in Afghanistan, where they have fought alongside British troops for nearly a decade.

“This draws to a close an episode of which all Canadians can be immensely proud,” William said to a chorus of frenzied cheering.

“Our armed forces have always led the world in rallying to the defence of freedom, from Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach through Korea and the Falklands and Balkans to Kandahar province, the sacrifice of Canadians has been universally revered and respected.”

He also saluted the courage, strength and determination of those Canadians in Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta who are working to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of devastating floods in those provinces.