Prince William celebrates Canada Day
Prince William Prince William and his new bride Catherine were guests of honour as they visited Ottawa’s Parliament Hill to mark Canada’s 144th anniversary on the second day of their North America tour. They were also present for a ceremony to welcome new citizens to the country.
Catherine marked the special occasion by dressing in the host nation’s colours and wore a red hat with a maple leaf – the national emblem of Canada - and a white ruffle Reiss Nanette dress, which she previously wore when she posed for her official engagement photographs. The 29-year-old brunette also sported Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond maple leaf brooch.
William looked smart in a navy suit and red tie.
During his speech in a mixture of French and English, the future king of England revealed Catherine’s special link to Canada.
“She heard about Canada not from her parents, but from her grandfather, a wonderful man who passed away last year,” he explained. “He held this country dear to his heart, for he trained in Alberta as a young pilot during the Second World War.
“Catherine and I especially are so thrilled and excited by the prospect of the next eight days of being part of the Canadian family. It will be an adventure that we’ll never forget.
"To mark today, my grandmother, the Queen of Canada, has asked me to convey her warmest good wishes to the people of Canada, and her happy and abiding memories of being on Parliament Hill with the Duke of Edinburgh one year ago."
Around 300,000 people turned out for the celebrations and they were entertained by a variety of dancers and singers. Canadian Forces fast jets and the Snowbirds aerial acrobatics team also staged individual flypasts.
William and Catherine took time to speak to some of the people in the crowd and were treated to chants of ‘Will and Kate’. One onlooker compared the hysteria to when William’s parents, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, visited the country in the 80s and early 90s. “We haven’t seen scenes like this since Diana came here,” she said.
Yesterday would have been Diana’s 50th birthday.