THE FAMILY WHO STOLE CANADA’S HEART
It was the royal tour that had it all: style, class, culture – and of course two little cutie pies with minds of their own
THE duchess was slimmer and more stylish than ever. The duke ditched his stiff-upper-lip respectability to put on a display of fatherly love that tugged at even the hardest hearts. The little prince didn’t want to high five. And the tiny princess uttered her first word in public (“pop” when she saw a bank of balloons).
That, in a nutshell, sums up how the Cambridges conquered Canada. It was always going to be special – William and Kate, returning to the country five years after visiting as newlyweds, took their children along with them this time. And for a world that lays eyes on Prince George and Princess Charlotte only once in a blue moon, the idea of seeing them on their first official family tour was rather exciting.
It was great from the start. There was Prince George, all of three years old, peering out of the window of the plane as it taxied to a standstill at an air force base in Victoria. When the doors opened, there were the royal foursome: William dapper in a dark suit, Kate chic in a royal blue Jenny Packham dress and hat, George adorable in his trademark shorts and long socks, and Charlotte (17 months) in a pretty blue dress.
Kate further impressed onlookers by bending down to talk to George on the tarmac while balancing her daughter on her hip and not teetering once in her tight skirt and sky-high heels. But it was George who stole the show, smiling sweetly and waving at the crowd that FAR RIGHT: The Cambridges arrive at a garden party thrown for the kids. RIGHT: Canadian first lady Sophie Trudeau and her husband, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with Kate and William on day one of the tour. had gathered to meet the plane – but then refusing to tap Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s palm when he bent down to high five the pint-size prince.
“The prime minister was rebuffed by a look of total toddler indifference,” is how New York magazine put it. And the BBC quipped, “That moment when you high five the future king and fail. It’s a moment Trudeau might want to forget.”
The children were kept out of the limelight for a large part of the eight-day tour to the North American country.
While the couple met cultural leaders, laid wreaths, visited important sites, sailed on a tall ship, rode on a steam train and attended formal dinners, the children remained under the watchful eye of their nanny, Maria Borrallo.
She stayed with the royal family at Government House in Victoria, where all the stops had been pulled out to make the formal building a home from home for the kids. A specially created nursery full of toys, childproof protectors in electricity sockets and even an ornamental fountain filled with rubber ducks – all were put in place by thoughtful staff determined to ensure George and Charlotte felt comfortable and had fun.
The little ones stuck close to Government House throughout the trip but insiders reveal Maria did manage to sneak the kids off on a few outings, including one to a nearby petting zoo.
Sadly though, this is likely to be the last official family tour we’ll see in a while.
‘The prime minister was rebuffed by a look of total toddler indifference’