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After a nine-day tour that delighted them and showed off the country from
east to west, north to south, Prince William and Kate bid farewell to Canada on
Friday afternoon, departing from Calgary airport for California.
Just before the royal couple got on the plane, Kate was given flowers by
Frances Miller, an Alberta woman who finally got to live out a dream that had
been on hold for 72 years.
Miller, 81, was chosen to present a bouquet to Queen Elizabeth, William's
great-grandmother, during a brief stop in Walsh, Alta., on a train tour through
Canada in 1939 with her husband, King George VI. But for some reason that was
never fully explained, the train rumbled on through instead.
Miller got her second chance when her story was brought to the attention of
tour organizers. In a blue dress, standing under the left wing of the Canadian
Forces Airbus A310 that would carry the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to L.A.,
Miller handed the flowers to Kate.
"I never, ever in my wildest dreams ever thought anything like this would
happen," Miller said.
Just before the final moments on the airport tarmac, the royal couple took
part in a solemn departure ceremony at Calgary Rotary Challenger Park, where
they laid a wreath at a wall with images of Canadian soldiers who died in
Afghanistan and saw a 21-gun salute. The prince inspected the guard of honour
before a band played O Canada.
An audience of 3,100 members of the public were at the farewell ceremony,
some of whom had lined up overnight earlier in the week to obtain free
wristbands that let them attend. They saw the royal couple shake hands with and
greet the families of Canada's fallen soldiers from the Afghan mission. Some of
those people started arriving two hours early to get prime spots to watch
ceremony.
Earlier Friday, William and Kate visited the Calgary Zoo for a presentation
on science and technology. Lt.-Gov. Donald Ethell, former lieutenant-governor
and Canadian Football Hall of Famer Normie Kwong and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach
attended, as did a crowd of royal watchers waving Canadian, British and Alberta
flags.
For the zoo visit, William and Kate changed out of the cowpoke garb they
sported earlier to officially launch the Calgary Stampede into more formal wear.
She wore a scarlet coat-dress, and he was back in a navy suit jacket.
In their first public duty in the morning, Will gave the 99th annual Calgary
Stampede parade a royal touch. Both decked out in white cowboy hats and blue
jeans with large belt buckles, the royal couple travelled the parade route in a
motorcade before joining Prime Minister Stephen Harper and parade marshal Rick
Hansen at Bow Valley College at 8:50 a.m. MT to kick off the event.
With a push of the klaxon — the horn traditionally used to start the
chuckwagon races — William and Kate officially launched the parade and the 2011
Calgary Stampede.
There was no walkabout to mingle with the crowds, but the royal couple did
take their place in the stands to watch the parade.
"The biggest challenge will be moving them around in big crowds ... making
sure their movement can be done quickly," Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson said
before the event.
Anti-paparazzi tricks
The pair head to California following their nine-day Canadian tour, a visit
that the prince said on Thursday "far surpassed all that we were promised. Our
promise to Canada is that we shall return."
The energetic participation by the couple is unprecedented for a royal tour.
Paul Harrison, royal correspondent for Britain's Sky Television, said he's never
seen anything like it.
"It's just intense in terms of how much they are doing and getting involved.
Their interactive side of things I've never seen before."
In Los Angeles, William and Kate will stay at the home of the British
consul-general near West Hollywood. Their three-day itinerary in Tinseltown
includes a ball Saturday night.
To stymie paparazzi, seven neighbours surrounding the consul-general's home
in the tony Hancock Park neighbourhood have signed on to enforce a strict
no-trespassing edict on their properties, and have even rejected cash offers
from tabloids wanting to deploy photographers in their yards. Police said they
will arrest anyone lining up for a telephoto-lens shot from their lawns.
Elsewhere in the city, the Los Angeles Police Department will be cordoning
off streets around each site the couple visits, preventing photographers from
from getting close enough to snap candid shots.
William and Kate got their official welcome to Calgary on Thursday afternoon
after spending the night at a remote backcountry cabin in Banff National Park.
The idyllic Skoki Lodge is a private setting usually accessible only by an
11-kilometre hike from the Lake Louise ski area. The couple reportedly arrived
by helicopter.
William and Kate spent their private time exploring the area on foot and
enjoying the peace, tranquility and scenery around the lodge.
On Thursday evening, the couple arrived by stagecoach to a cheering crowd at
the BMO Centre for an event hosted by the Government of Canada.
Their new "westernized" clothing included a plaid green, button-up shirt for
William and a white western blouse for Kate.
Greeted by the prime minister and his wife, Laureen, who were also decked out
in cowboy hats and western attire, the royal couple were shown how to load a
chuckwagon. William briefly took the reins of the horses as he was shown how to
drive the chuckwagon.
They also watched a bull riding demonstration, with William climbing up on a
fence to help hold the bull rope for the rider. The couple had been urged not to
participate in rodeo events by animal-rights groups that say those activities
exploit and harm the bulls and horses. Bull riding has been banned in the United
Kingdom since 1934, the British League Against Cruel Sports pointed out.
Inside the BMO Centre, Harper thanked the couple for helping to celebrate
Canada Day on Parliament Hill, saying there hadn't been such a love-in since the
first visit of the Beatles.
"Indeed everywhere you went, you left a trail of utterly charmed Canadians in
your wake," Harper said.
As a gift to the couple, Harper announced the creation in their honour of the
Parks Canada Youth Ambassadors Program, which will see two young Canadians
chosen every summer to travel the country visiting national parks and historic
sites.
William and Kate are scheduled to arrive at Calgary airport at 1:30 p.m. MT
to board their flight to Los Angeles.
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