Inside Princess Charlotte’s first royal tour

It was Princess Charlotte’s first ever tour and Prince George’s second, but the royal siblings stole the show, says The Weekly’s Editor Juliet Rieden, who joined the Cambridge family on their unforgettable eight-day Canadian experience.

It happened to his grandmother, his father and now Prince William; this is the moment when the young bloods of the royal court upstage their parents. William probably didn’t expect it to happen quite so soon or on such a global scale, but three-yearold Prince George and one-year-old Princess Charlotte certainly dominated the royal tour of Canada.

The tots did this with just three short highly orchestrated appearances at the beginning, middle and end of what was a hugely successful tour for the Cambridge four, with crowds out in force wherever they went. In total, Prince George and Princess Charlotte were only “working” as representatives of the monarchy in this corner of their realm, for around 40 minutes and they actually only faced the Canadian public for approximately 10 minutes as they flew out. But by that time the duo had mastered the “royal salute”, waving furiously at the throng of thousands who stood at a considerable distance at Victoria Harbour to see the family board a seaplane on the first leg of their journey back to London. The pair must have been tiny dots on onlookers’ smartphones but nevertheless when The Weekly chatted to locals afterwards they were unanimously overjoyed at this paltry glimpse of the third and fourth in line to the throne and their doting parents.

The other two occasions we saw the brother and sister – as the royal family flew in and at a private children’s garden party – the public was not allowed in. And yet, the siblings completely stole the show. Photos of an achingly cute Prince George and bright-eyed and curious Princess Charlotte dominated the global news cycle; their every move and look scrutinised as this close-knit family who so fiercely protect their privacy let the world in.

The popularity of the monarchy in Canada is comparable with their popularity here. The Queen is revered, but there is a question mark over what will happen when Prince Charles accedes. The answer from the Palace

comes in the form of the young royals, whose popularity is unheralded.

It was Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who had asked the Cambridge family to visit, and as a father-of-three himself, hoped that he might persuade the royal couple to bring both children and make Canada the realm in which Princess Charlotte would make her royal tour debut. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had taken Prince George to Australia for his first royal tour in 2014, and earlier this year when The Weekly joined the couple on their tour of India and Bhutan, it was clear they were really missing being with their children, so Canada seemed to be an obvious opportunity to introduce both children to what will, after all, become their day jobs. But George and Charlotte would still need to be protected. Prince William is adamant that they will not face the intrusive scrutiny he battled growing up, and together with his court he has built a wall around his son and daughter that allows them to pursue as “normal” a childhood as possible. Photos are largely taken by the Palace and opportunities for the media to capture images and observe the siblings are rare. It is for this reason that this tour garnered so much attention.

The trip was cleverly devised around a base and on all but one evening, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to Victoria’s Government House to spend some quality time with George and Charlotte and put them to bed. Logistically this kept the royals to British Columbia and the Yukon but they hit the ground running each day and packed as much in as possible. Their aim, they said, was to meet as many Canadians as possible and showcase Canada, and this they certainly achieved.

On arrival at a military airfield in Victoria, the public were kept out, but the family descended the airplane steps to a bank of more than 100 journalists and photographers as well as a welcome line-up including

Prime Minister Trudeau and his wife Sophie. Kate carried Charlotte on her hip and George walked beside William, hanging on to his father’s hand tight and looking a little apprehensive.

The pair were dressed in their now trademark outfits – rather oldfashioned ensembles beloved by the British upper classes, with George in shorts, long socks and a jumper and Charlotte in a floral dress.

Now age three, there’s no question the young Prince is starting to realise that his life is not like other children’s, and while Charlotte seemed interested and excited, he looked decidedly unsure. On the tarmac Kate knelt down beside her son. “Are you okay?” she asked, stroking his hair and cheeks. Trudeau also crouched to George’s level and, in a hilarious exchange, tried first to shake the young royal’s hand and then high-five him, achieving success with neither greeting.

As he gazed around him, George became transfixed with the planes and started to look more at ease. George loves the aircraft world – his father flies helicopters after all!

Once their photo call was over, the family sped off in a motorcade and the Duke and Duchess settled their children into Government House before their ceremonial arrival – a fairytale event outside Parliament House beside the picturesque Victoria Harbour. More than 10,000 people crowded the lawns to see them and the whole scene was relayed on a huge movie screen.

“Catherine and I are delighted to be back in Canada,” said Prince William in his first speech of the tour. “When we were here last time we had been married only three months. The warm welcome that you gave us at that important moment in our lives meant a lot to us, and we have never forgotten it. That is why we are so pleased that George and Charlotte can be with us in Canada this time round. Beginning their own lifetime of friendship with this wonderful country.”

While their parents travelled, George and Charlotte stayed at Government House with nanny Maria Teresa

“Kate knelt down beside her son. ‘Are you okay?’”

Turrion Borrallo. In keeping with the Duke and Duchess’s wishes, the children were left in peace and only one tiny story sneaked out about what they were up to when Victoria Tourism posted a tweet about the siblings’ secret visit to Beacon Hill Children’s Farm, where the children apparently petted goats. The tweet was deleted after half an hour, but the story was out.

Some of the animals from that farm made an appearance at the children’s garden party attended by the royal family. Here the siblings joined 24 children and 24 parents from Canadian military families for a play-date straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Arches of pastelcoloured balloons fascinated

George and Charlotte, as well as balloon animals created just for them. Charlotte snuggled up to a soft black and white bunny rabbit before toddling off to sit on a St John Ambulance therapy dog called Moose. Prince George stayed close to his father for most of the party and when William put his son on one of the miniature ponies, he quickly tried to climb down, more interested in the giant bubbles pumping out from a bubble machine.

Lucas Kenward, the Commanding Officer of a Canadian warship, was one of the guests at the party along with his daughter, three-year-old Brielle. “It was much more intimate than I anticipated,” he said afterwards. “It was nice to see that they have kids that are like all our kids, downto-earth.”

When the royal family departed by seaplane two days later, going from Victoria to Vancouver, where a Canadian military jet flew them to the UK, Prince George looked much more settled and waved at the crowds with both hands.

The three-year-old future King sat in the seaplane with his nose pressed against the window and his ear defenders on, clearly loving the flight. When the seaplane touched down, Prince George was taken into the cockpit, where he sat, entranced, alongside the pilot,

Shawn Stewart.

“After we landed, once the co-pilot got out, George climbed up into the seat and started playing with the controls and pretending he was flying the plane,” Stewart said afterwards. “Kate said, ‘Where are you going to fly us? Are you going to fly us to Canada?’

“And George said, ‘No I’m going to fly us to England’.” AWW