It’s Official: George & Charlotte Joining Kate/William in Canada, And Your Complete Tour Schedule

This morning Kensington Palace released a detailed itinerary for the Canada Tour.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty details, a few broader points:

• Princess Charlotte and Prince George will accompany the Duke and Duchess on the trip
• The children, along with Nanny Maria Borrallo, will be based at Government House in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia
• It is a busy schedule with 30 engagements in total (one is a playdate for the children, see info for Sept. 29th)

• The majority of engagements on this trip are not quite as formal as those on the 2011 Tour of Canada, so we will see the couple in more casual attire. Below, Kate and William on Prince Edward Island in July, 2011.

• At many of the outdoor locales we can expect to see Kate dressed much as she was at casual events on other tours (l to r): a safari in India, that mountain hike in Bhutan, and visit to a Borneo rainforest. Local temperatures will impact clothing decisions, as it will be cooler on this trip than it was in the locations where the pictures below were taken.

A few thoughts from Patricia Treble’s story in Maclean’s Canada:

Aside from a government reception in Victoria on Monday, Sept. 26, the only evening event will be a cultural performance at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse. Hopes of royal fashion bloggers for a grand evening-gown-and-tiara gala are dust.

Other items included in today’s media release:

• “The Duke and Duchess consider it an honour to be visiting Canada – the largest Commonwealth Realm – in the year of The Queen’s 90th birthday. British Columbia and Yukon are among the most beautiful places in the world and home to many indigenous communities.”
• “They have received so many wonderful messages from Canadians since the birth of their children and look forward to having the chance to introduce their young family to the country.” 
• “This visit is a chance for The Duke and Duchess to deepen their relationship with a country that they will visit many times over the course of their lives. They want to help the people of British Columbia and Yukon to celebrate what makes Canada great and to showcase some amazing places to the rest of the world.”

George was about 9 months of age when he accompanied his parents to New Zealand and Australia; Charlotte will be 16 months. Below, the family leaving Wellington, New Zealand April 15, 2014.

This will be Charlotte’s first official engagement; I don’t believe her balcony appearance at Trooping the Colour is considered a ‘formal engagement.’

Back to Patricia Treble’s piece:

Brace yourself for a short, intense dose of royal cuteness. The most famous of royal children—Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 17 months—are coming as well. 

Don’t expect to see much of the royal children. Security at Government House will be ferociously tight. The kids will play amid the expansive, 10-hectare grounds and oak forest, perhaps venturing to the Butchart Gardens while their parents undertake a logistically challenging tour that involves some serious travelling. For a start, the kids are young, really young. Travelling by canoe, hovercraft and the like may sound like fun to adults, but that’s not happening with children of that age, especially with the media watching.

George at his New Zealand playdate in 2014.

Because there is so much interest in the children I’ve broken out and listed the three times we might expect to see them:

• SEP 24: the arrival at the Victoria airport
• SEP 29: the children’s party at Government House
• OCT 1: the official farewell from Victoria Harbour Airport
• There is also discussion the children *might* take part in another activity, but that is very much a TBA.

Below you see both children just before their first birthdays.

Now to the specific dates and events. Our official tour page will be up in the next day or two and this information will be displayed there as well.

SATURDAY SEP 24 — VICTORIA ARRIVAL AND WELCOME

• William, Kate, George & Charlotte travel from London aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force plane
• The party will be greeted at the Victoria airport “according to Canadian custom and protocol”
• The official ceremonial welcome will be at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
  • • The Duke and Duchess lay a wreath at the Cenotaph and unveil a new plaque honoring Canadian Afghanistan veterans
    • The ceremony also includes a 21-gun salute and inspection of the Guard of Honour
• Return to Government House for meetings with senior Canadian leaders

SUNDAY, SEP 25 — VANCOUVER

• Travel by float plane to Vancouver, British Columbia; the plane will land in the harbor that is located right in the heart of the city
• Receive a civic welcome near Vancouver’s Trade and Convention Centre
• Take part in an engagement at Sheway, an organization offering support to mothers and expectant mothers struggling with substance abuse
• Visit the Immigrant Services Society (ISS) of British Columbia, where the Duke and Duchess will meet staff & volunteers working with more than 30000 refugees this past year, including many from the UN’s Syrian refugee camps
• Meet some of Canada’s young people who are leaders in their communities at Telus Garden
• Visit the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station, whose first responders work “with Indigenous groups, coastal communities and local response partners.” Improving mental health for first responders will also be discussed.
• Depart aboard Coast Guard hovercraft before flying back to Victoria

MONDAY, SEP 26 — GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST BELLA BELLA

• Arrive Bella Bella, a small Heiltsuk First Nation community, where they will immediately board a float plane for an aerial tour of the rainforest
• Return to Bella Bella for traditional welcome by members of the Heiltsuk community, take part in cultural sharing ceremony
• Kate and William then walk to the Elders Lodge, where the Duke marks the dedication of the Great Bear Rainforest as part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy initiative
• The final Bella Bella engagement is a boat tour of Mcloughlin Bay
• Return to Victoria, attend an evening reception hosted by the province of British Columbia at Government House

TUESDAY, SEP 27 —   KELOWNA AND WHITEHORSE  

• Fly to Kelowna, visit University of British Columbia, meet with students and watch exhibition volleyball game
• Attend the Taste of British Columbia at Mission Hill Winery, a fundraiser for BC Children’s Hospital 
• Fly to Whitehorse, Yukon. Arrive at Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport 
• Inspect Canadian Rangers honor guard, meet with members of the Junior Canadian Rangers (William & Harry were made honorary members of the Rangers reserve unit in 2009.)
• Visit Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, considered a centrepiece of downtown Whitehorse

WEDNESDAY SEP 28 — WHITEHORSE AND CARCROSS, YUKON

• Visit the MacBride Museum of Yukon History in downtown Whitehorse, walk through Youth Art Festival, travel to Carcross
• Traditional welcome ceremony from Carcross/Tagish First Nation, meet members of the community
• At Montana Mountain watch a mountain biking demonstration and learn about Single Track to Success, an organization building world class biking trails
• Travel back to Whitehorse and then return to Victoria

THURSDAY SEP 29 — CHILDREN’S PARTY (VICTORIA)

• The only public event scheduled for the day is one involving George and Charlotte, a children’s party at Government House. Attendees will include local children and families, as well as some working with the Military Family Resource Centre, a charity providing support and programs for members of the military and their families
• The rest of the day is private time.

FRIDAY SEP 30 — HAIDA GWAII

• Kate and William travel by canoe to Haida Heritage Centre and Museum in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands)
• First Nations official welcome; tour of the Heritage Centre, greeting from the President of the Haida Nation, watch a cultural performance put on by 30 local children
• Officially open of Haidi Gwaii General Hospital and meet with people who have received services from the hospital   
• Boat ride and fishing with local young people at Skidegate Youth Centre

SATURDAY OCT 1 —  VICTORIA 

• Engagement at the Cridge Centre for the Family, an agency offering shelter, care and hope for children, women, families and the elderly
• Meeting with members of the Kelty Mental Health Resources Centre at a downtown cafe, this organization helps families dealing with mental health issues
• Kate and William tour the harbor aboard a Tall Ship piloted by a crew from the Sail and Life Training Society (SALTS), a charity using sailing to help build life skills
• While on board the couple will meet with young people from Jack.org, an organization working to end the stigma surrounding mental health issues
• Official farewell and departure from Canada at the Victoria Harbour Airport

The main tour stops are visualized well in this map from CBC News.

 

LINKAGE:

• The Canadian Government’s official tour site is here, including the schedule and the Kensington Palace news release with schedule details is here
• A version of the schedule put together by Global News Canada is here
• Victoria Murphy’s story about the schedule is here; Rebecca English’s piece about the itinerary is here; Richard Palmer’s story in The Express is here
• Hello Canada’s story is here; the Patricia Treble story for MacLean’s is here, a CBC News story is here