A Royal BC Welcome to Canada for the Duke and Duchess - PHOTOS

The crowd began to gather on the grounds of the BC Legislature early Saturday morning in Victoria’s Inner Harbour with a plan to get a great spot to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and hopefully sneak a moment to give them flowers and say hello to British Royalty.

The Royal Visit 2016 got underway just a little later than planned at the grounds of the BC Legislature. I’m assuming it’s because the Duke and Duchess had to drop off their littles, Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Government House. Have you ever had to drop off babies or toddlers in a hurry? Not an easy feat, even when there’s thousands of people waiting for you — millions if you add up the TV audience. While the public would have loved to see the Prince and Princess, they had just come from a long flight and were likely tucked in shortly after the 21-gun salute echoed through the streets of Victoria.

The Official Welcome to Canada and British Columbia ceremony began around 5:30pm when the Trudeau’s arrived from the airport and welcomed Prince William and Kate as the thousands of royal watchers applauded. The Duke and Duchess continued to the Cenotaph where a solemn ceremony took place with the laying of a wreath for Canadians killed in Afghanistan and a touching greeting of war veterans.

The dignitaries made their way to the front steps of the Legislature as the lights began to glow in the early evening. The 21-Gun Salute for Prince William was provided by Fifth British Columbia Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery for military honours.

A very enthusiastic crowd at the BC Legislature welcomed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with cheers and such thunderous applause that the British journalists I stood next to looked on with amazement.

The Official Ceremony continued with speeches including a warm welcome from Justin Trudeau and BC Premiere Christy Clark. Speeches concluded with Prince William thanking Canadians for being so welcoming to he and the Duchess, Catherine and their children. The Duchess had to laugh when the Duke addressed the audience in French, that he called “rusty”.

The Royal Couple closed the ceremonies with a signing of BC’s Distinguished Visitors Book and Canada’s Golden Book. They then made their way through down the immaculate red carpet, greeting those and accepting flowers along the way.

We will continue to follow the Royal Couple while they’re in BC and the Yukon this week, check Ocean 98.5’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter along with our website for photos and updates along the tour.

Also Ocean 98.5 will run three daily Royal Visit Reports at 7:49am, 10:47am and 1:47pm full of Royal Visit content as provided by our sister publication Hello! magazine– the Canadian authority on all things William and Kate!

Mel Z – Midday Show 10am – 3pm on Ocean 98.5