A sea journey in a traditional carved Haida canoe will be a highlight of this fall’s B.C. and Yukon visit by Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The eight-day trip starts Sept. 24 in Victoria, with B.C. stops in Vancouver, Kelowna, Bella Bella and Haida Gwaii, and Yukon stops in Whitehorse and Carcross, a remote First Nations community just north of the B.C. border, according to a release Monday from Heritage Canada. William and Kate, along with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will end their trip back in Victoria.
The City of Prince George didn’t make the list.
“With this trip and them identifying Haida Gwaii as a place they want to visit, the work that we’re doing to showcase who we are and what we’re about is really resonating not only locally but internationally as well,” said Haida Nation President Peter Lantin.
“You want to show them a good time and showcase all of Haida Gwaii. There’s a lot of excitement around it — the entire island of Haida Gwaii is going to be coming out in full force to welcome our guests, which is just being great hosts.”
While there was no word from B.C.’s bigger centres about their plans for the visit, the Haida were quick to outline their welcome for the Royal Family.
“It’s not a matter of a full day, more a matter of hours,” Lantin said. William, Kate and their children will be welcomed in Skidegate on Sept. 30, where they’ll view Haida art and culture at the Kay Linagaay Heritage Centre.
“You’re going to have the full presence of our hereditary chiefs and our governance,” Lantin said, adding they are looking forward to getting their guests out on the water. “It would be a traditional carved canoe they would be heading out on … that’s the obvious experience we want them to have here.”
The Haida’s relationship with the Crown, as represented by the governments of B.C. and Canada, can be confrontational, but Lantin said that has no bearing on the hospitality they’ll extend to the Prince and his family.
“We’re trying not to look at it as a political-type trip,” Lantin said. “It’s hard to do when you think about who they represent, but this isn’t the time for that.”
Meanwhile in Vancouver, diehard Royal Family lover Stella Shurety, who has run Point Grey’s emphatically British-themed Diner since 1960, said she’ll bring out the cafe’s good china for the Sept. 25 Vancouver visit, something she only does for royal visits.
Not that any of them have ever dropped by for a cuppa.
“They don’t come up this way too much,” said Shurety, who plans to festoon her establishment at 4556 West 10th Ave. with even more British flags than usual. She’ll likely duck out of the Diner at some point to try to catch a glimpse of the Royal Family, as she has done many times before for William’s grandmother.
“Sir, I am English until the day I die,” she said. “The Royal Family are fantastic and I love William and Kate.”
Tour dates released by Heritage Canada are: Sept. 24, Victoria; Sept. 25, Vancouver; Sept. 26, Bella Bella; Sept. 27, Victoria, Kelowna and Whitehorse; Sept. 28, Whitehorse and Carcross; Sept. 29, Victoria; Sept. 30, Haida Gwaii: Oct. 1, Victoria.
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