I remember my first and only Royal Tour.
I was just a kid growing up in Fort William and I vaguely recall standing with my parents near the airport somewhere as a small motorcade sped past.
“There they are,” everyone shouted as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were whisked away. It didn’t mean that much to me at the time.
I have always been somewhat indifferent to the royal family. However, our octogenarian queen seems like a nice lady and she always speaks well of Canada.
From the Canadian perspective she’s the Gordie Howe of the monarchy. Some of her records will never be broken.
The Queen and her family often visit our country and it’s always nice to see them but it sure is expensive. They always seem to get the royal treatment.
This summer the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are taking a Canadian honeymoon and this event has captured the imagination of Canadian journalists if not royal watchers everywhere.
Included in the pomp and circumstance are Mounties in red serge uniforms, landau carriages and thousands of loyal subjects hoping for a glimpse of the future king and his duchess.
There were no riots. Good for you Canada.
While I was preparing for my own Canada Day celebrations with my family I watched some of the festivities being broadcast from Parliament Hill in Ottawa. I am not normally a follower of high fashion but I was completely fascinated by something I witnessed for the second time in recent royal history.
When the newlyweds made their way to join the Canada Day party they looked like very nice people, a little formal perhaps but still likeable. They could almost have passed for a young Canadian couple.
Kate Middleton was color coordinated with red and white to reflect our country’s flag. She even extended her tribute with a custom made red maple leaf thingy precariously perched on the left side of her head. That was what caught my eye.
This delicate, frivolous head decoration is known as a fascinator and this fashion accessory has recently been made popular again by the elegant Ms Middleton.
My fellow royal watchers will recall there were some particularly elaborate fascinators on display at the royal wedding a while back. I, for one, was fascinated. Some of the invited guests looked like birds of paradise to me.
The bright red fascinator perched on the side of the duchess’s head included a large maple leaf prominently displayed and was also meant as a sign of respect for Canada. That friendly gesture, and the duke’s red necktie of course, made me like them both. Give this fine, young couple the royal suite.
When the royal red fascinator was viewed from certain angles it looked good, almost hat-like. Unfortunately, when viewed from certain other angles it looked a little like a Don Martin cartoon to me. In retrospect I guess she could pass as a Canadian after all.
However, she might want to have a talk with the royal hatter and review the lessons learned from The Emperor’s New Clothes. I still like her anyway. Perhaps the duke should consider a fascinator for himself. He seemed a little drab by comparison.
Thinking back to that brief drive-by in 1959, I wonder how Fort William ever got to be included on that royal itinerary. Looking forward to future tours, I wonder what Thunder Bay would have to do to entice some royalty here again.
It appears all you have to do is ask. Requests can be sent to the Provincial Protocol Office but be forewarned, the planning is done years in advance. Of course not all requests can be honored but who knows? Maybe we have what it takes to lure Will and Kate to our city for a visit.
Here’s my plan. Now that Thunder Bay has decided, somewhat unilaterally it seems, to proceed with some sort of multiplex thingy, we should invite the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the official opening.
We can even name the new structure after them. How could they resist cutting the ribbon at the Royalplex or the Duke of Cambridge Coliseum or even the Fascinator Forum?
This dream may seem a little grandiose but our municipal leaders have already demonstrated when it comes to thinking big, the sky’s the limit. It would be interesting to see them grapple with this pie in the sky.
That, my friends, would be a real fascinator.
I was just a kid growing up in Fort William and I vaguely recall standing with my parents near the airport somewhere as a small motorcade sped past.
“There they are,” everyone shouted as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were whisked away. It didn’t mean that much to me at the time.
I have always been somewhat indifferent to the royal family. However, our octogenarian queen seems like a nice lady and she always speaks well of Canada.
From the Canadian perspective she’s the Gordie Howe of the monarchy. Some of her records will never be broken.
The Queen and her family often visit our country and it’s always nice to see them but it sure is expensive. They always seem to get the royal treatment.
This summer the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are taking a Canadian honeymoon and this event has captured the imagination of Canadian journalists if not royal watchers everywhere.
Included in the pomp and circumstance are Mounties in red serge uniforms, landau carriages and thousands of loyal subjects hoping for a glimpse of the future king and his duchess.
There were no riots. Good for you Canada.
While I was preparing for my own Canada Day celebrations with my family I watched some of the festivities being broadcast from Parliament Hill in Ottawa. I am not normally a follower of high fashion but I was completely fascinated by something I witnessed for the second time in recent royal history.
When the newlyweds made their way to join the Canada Day party they looked like very nice people, a little formal perhaps but still likeable. They could almost have passed for a young Canadian couple.
Kate Middleton was color coordinated with red and white to reflect our country’s flag. She even extended her tribute with a custom made red maple leaf thingy precariously perched on the left side of her head. That was what caught my eye.
This delicate, frivolous head decoration is known as a fascinator and this fashion accessory has recently been made popular again by the elegant Ms Middleton.
My fellow royal watchers will recall there were some particularly elaborate fascinators on display at the royal wedding a while back. I, for one, was fascinated. Some of the invited guests looked like birds of paradise to me.
The bright red fascinator perched on the side of the duchess’s head included a large maple leaf prominently displayed and was also meant as a sign of respect for Canada. That friendly gesture, and the duke’s red necktie of course, made me like them both. Give this fine, young couple the royal suite.
When the royal red fascinator was viewed from certain angles it looked good, almost hat-like. Unfortunately, when viewed from certain other angles it looked a little like a Don Martin cartoon to me. In retrospect I guess she could pass as a Canadian after all.
However, she might want to have a talk with the royal hatter and review the lessons learned from The Emperor’s New Clothes. I still like her anyway. Perhaps the duke should consider a fascinator for himself. He seemed a little drab by comparison.
Thinking back to that brief drive-by in 1959, I wonder how Fort William ever got to be included on that royal itinerary. Looking forward to future tours, I wonder what Thunder Bay would have to do to entice some royalty here again.
It appears all you have to do is ask. Requests can be sent to the Provincial Protocol Office but be forewarned, the planning is done years in advance. Of course not all requests can be honored but who knows? Maybe we have what it takes to lure Will and Kate to our city for a visit.
Here’s my plan. Now that Thunder Bay has decided, somewhat unilaterally it seems, to proceed with some sort of multiplex thingy, we should invite the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the official opening.
We can even name the new structure after them. How could they resist cutting the ribbon at the Royalplex or the Duke of Cambridge Coliseum or even the Fascinator Forum?
This dream may seem a little grandiose but our municipal leaders have already demonstrated when it comes to thinking big, the sky’s the limit. It would be interesting to see them grapple with this pie in the sky.
That, my friends, would be a real fascinator.
