William, Kate woo Vancouver
VANCOUVER • Threemonth-old Jasmine came closer to the royals than almost anybody in Vancouver when the Duke of Cambridge shook her hand Sunday.
William and Kate met the tiny baby as she was being weighed at the Sheway pregnancy outreach program in the Downtown Eastside, under the watchful eye of mother Cameo Hydrochuk.
“They talked to us just like I was a normal person. I didn’t feel stereotyped or anything. They were amazing,” Hydrochuk said of the interaction.
The visit meant a lot to all the mothers who got a chance to interact with the duke and duchess, and they described the visit as an important one for the Sheway program, which helps mothers struggling with drugs and alcohol.
“It just brings more awareness to it. Just getting out there and seeing that it’s not a hush-hush thing — we don’t sweep it under the rug,” said Jaimie Poulin, who met the royal couple along with her two daughters.
The Downtown Eastside was the place to be for royal watchers interested in getting a close look. Unlike in Jack Poole Plaza, where a crowd of hundreds awaited the royal couple’s arrival by float plane from Victoria, it was easy to get a front-row spot in front of Sheway.
“Most time when you come to these events, people use binoculars,” Syd Benjamin said from just behind a velvet rope. “We’re very lucky.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began charming Vancouverites the moment they touched down in Coal Harbour, where they were greeted by a rapturous welcome.
“She looks like a painting,” exclaimed Natasha Cadieux of the duchess, radiant in a red and white Alexander McQueen dress.
Sisters Jennifer Foik and Rebecca Horch and their mother, Allison Kenis, arrived at the plaza at 6:30 a.m. to get a prime spot hoping for a glimpse of the magnetic couple.
“They’re not celebrities,” said Kenis. “They’re royalty. It’s different. They’re a family that has been through tough times like everyone else and held it together.”
A pregnant Kenis had lined up six hours to see Diana, the Princess of Wales, in Victoria in 1986. “I made a mistake. She reached to shake my hand and I took a photo instead.” Kenis remains haunted by the faux pas and hoped for redemption this time. “I’m going to be more attentive and not worry about taking photographs.”
Later, the royal couple was met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, outside the Immigrant Services Society’s new welcome centre. Inside, they met staff and refugees, including Alaa Almahameed, from war-torn Syria.
Through a translator, Almahameed expressed delight at meeting William and Kate. “We feel very happy we had the opportunity to meet the royal highnesses today,” he said, as his little girls sat playing with a toy turtle and waving a Canadian flag.
THEY TALKED TO US JUST LIKE I WAS A NORMAL PERSON.