It’s taken about a year to organize and it will last just under an hour. But showing off B.C.’s capital to a future king of England and his family on Saturday afternoon will be an occasion to remember, said Richmond East MLA Linda Reid.
Reid serves as Speaker of the House in Victoria, and as such, has been responsible for helping roll out the red carpet for Prince William, his wife Kate and their two children, who kick off their eight-day visit to B.C. with a ceremony on the grounds of the provincial Legislature.
Reid, who was in the midst of a walkabout of the site that was still being readied on Wednesday, said it was a “beehive of activity” as a crowd estimated at 30,000 is expected, all trying to get a glimpse of the young members of Britain’s royal family.
“It’s going to be a magical undertaking,” Reid said, adding there were already people who looked like they were prepared to camp out and claim a good spot on the lush grass outside the Legislature.
“You could not have a city that is more royalist in its outlook than Victoria,” Reid said. “I had to tell people that they would have a long wait if they started now.”
During the 50-minute or so visit, William and Kate will be raising a B.C. flag up a new flagpole at the Legislature, and dedicating a new plaque on the cenotaph which pays tribute to those Canadian men and
women who lost their lives serving in Afghanistan.
“They will also lay a wreath in their honour,” Reid said.
All of the activities will take place outside and Reid said she is hopeful the weather forecast will continue to call for rain-free conditions.
“Right now it’s so beautiful in Victoria,” she said. “All of that rain we got early in the week has made everything here just so fresh and lush. The grass on the front lawn of the Legislature is a beautiful green, and all the hanging baskets that Victoria is known for are looking exceptional.”
Those hoping to get close up with the royals may want to brush up on the protocol involved with addressing them.
Mariel Grant, associate professor in the department of history at the University of Victoria, and a royalty expert, told the News a person being formally introduced to a member of the Royal Family is supposed to wait for that member to speak to him or her, before he/she speaks to the member of the Royal Family.
“The correct form of address when speaking to members of the Royal Family (excluding the Queen) for the first time is Your Royal Highness; from that point forward the correct form of address is Sir or Ma’am,” Grant said via email, adding the correct pronunciation of ma’am is to rhyme it with ham.
In less formal situations, such as the scheduled walkabout at the Legislature, those who are approached should feel free to say hello.
“Generally speaking, the correct form of address is still Your Royal Highness or Sir/Ma’am, or just hello,” Grant said. “It is not correct to say, ‘Hello Duke’ or ‘Hello Duchess,’ or to address them by their first names, unless invited to do so.
“That said, the Duke of Cambridge may be addressed as Prince William.”
One Richmond businesswoman who has had a brush with the royals is Mary Carter, owner of Mary’s British Home Store in Steveston which stocks all manner of foods from the old country, as well as china mugs bearing the images of William and Kate.
As a youngster, Carter remembers seeing a royal procession roll through her home city of Birmingham.
“I must have been about five,” said Carter who is now 81 and has run her shop in Steveston in three different locations during the past 30 years or so. “I remember seeing all of these fabulous coaches.”
While that created quite the stir back then, this most recent visit to B.C. by this current crop of royals has yet to create much excitement in her shop.
Camie Walker, who helps run things for Carter, said that so far just a few customers have come through enquiring about the upcoming event in Victoria.
“We’ll see if that changes as the day gets closer,” she said.
