français · FAQs
For media contacts click here

Royal Tour 2011: Moving Forward Together

Ottawa · Montréal · Québec · Charlottetown · Summerside · Yellowknife · Calgary

“Canada has far surpassed all that we were promised.
Our promise to Canada is that we shall return.”
—The Duke of Cambridge

“I am confident that, in coming to know this country and its people better, The Duke and Duchess will develop their own enduring bonds of affection for Canada and Canadians as has been the case with Her Majesty The Queen over 60 years, which began with her own very first tour as Princess Elizabeth at the age of 25 in 1951.” —Prime Minister Stephen Harper, 30 May 2011

Canadians feel both honoured and excited that William and Kate have chosen Canada for their first overseas tour while fresh memories persist both of the incredible excitement and home celebrations across the Commonwealth as well as of crowds which hailed their wedding in London on April 29. The Government of Canada has themed the tour “Moving Forward Together”.

Follow the Royal Tour with social media

• Monarchist League of Canada on Facebook
• @monarchist on Twitter
• @DominionChair on Twitter
• The Crown in Canada on Facebook
• The Monarchy on Facebook

View the Official Royal Tour Itinerary

Are you interested in becoming a free trial member of
the Monarchist League of Canada? Click here for information.

To visit the League’s main site with detailed information about Canada’s
constitutional monarchy and our Royal Family, CLICK HERE.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Royal Tour

• Q: How do you justify the cost of this visit?

  A: The visit will cost about five or six cents per Canadian. Officials of the Department of Canadian Heritage note that this amount is coming from previously budgeted amounts, and does not represent additional government expenditure. Quite apart from the importance of the visit of Canada’s future King and Queen, and the enormous pleasure it will give millions of Canadians, the presence of the Royals also infuses many multiples of its cost into the economies of the provinces and cities they will visit through the expenditures of local well-wishers, tourists, and a huge media presence, not to mention the publicity generated to encourage future visitors. As but one example, media reports that the city of Ottawa will be the site of the largest public event ever held in Canada—TRHs’ attendance and walkabout during Canada Day—with hotels and much transportation reported to be sold out.

• Q: Why do so many in the public and media—even in the Monarchist League—refer to the Royal couple as William and Kate? Isn’t this disrespectful?

  A: No disrespect is shown when we familiarly speak of Their Royal Highnesses as “William and Kate”. There is a time for formality and for the use of formal titles. But, as in our own families, much of the time we show our affection by referring to members in more relaxed ways, using first names or nicknames. The popular imagination of the world chose to use the casual and inaccurate term for William’s mother —“Princess Di”—which underlined her great popularity. Similarly the Commonwealth often referred to the late Queen Mother as “Queen Mum”. We refer to members of the Royal Family as we do of our own family, thus Elizabeth and Philip, Charles and Camilla and so on.

• Q: Why aren’t two of Canada’s largest cities, Toronto and Vancouver, included in their itinerary?

  A: The first fact to celebrate is that our future King is visiting both Montréal and Québec: how many Royal tours in recent years can equal that?  Moreover, the prime minister and other officials have made it clear that this summer's visit will be but the first of many Canadian homecomings for William and Catherine, during which every major community and many smaller ones will eagerly await their turn to welcome the couple. As a serving officer in the Royal Air Force, William devotes most of his time to his challenging and often-perilous work as a helicopter rescue pilot, based in Wales, so official duties on behalf of the Queen must be fit in to a schedule which respects that commitment. The itinerary for this first tour by the couple allows them to visit briefly the capital and each of Canada's regions before they go on to undertake charitable fund-raising for a few days in Los Angeles. It is worth noting that not only are Toronto and Vancouver not on TRHs' itinerary for this visit, but other provincial capitals and significant population centres, too, such as St John's, Fredericton, Halifax, Sherbrooke, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Victoria, not to mention a host of other communities.

• Q: Why can’t Prince William become our King immediately when the Queen dies?

  A: Well-meaning Canadians who admire Prince William sometimes ask this question. First, it is virtually impossible on a constitutional basis—as altering the succession to the Throne would involve each of the Commonwealth Realms (countries where, like Canada, the Queen is head of state) giving approval. In Canada’s case, this might well necessitate each province’s legislature debating and then approving the change, a lengthy and politically- messy process which would permit political and personal agendas in the provinces to hold the alteration hostage—we all remember what can ensue when the Constitution is “opened up”. Then, too, the Prince of Wales, an engaged, intellectual and committed expert on matters ranging from environment and architecture to the relations between Islam and the West, has been trained from birth to occupy the Throne. Those considerations apart, people who admire William and Catherine might on reflection wish for them to have what was denied our present Queen—some years of relatively “normal” married life in which to raise their children without the pressures and formality of William’s occupying the Throne.

• Q: I understand that William will eventually succeed as King of Canada, but what will Catherine’s role be at that time?

  A: When William becomes King, Catherine will be styled Queen. However, there will be an important distinction between their titles. William will be the reigning King, Canada’s monarch and head of state, exactly as the Queen is today. Catherine’s title will be one of courtesy and respect, as Queen Consort, occupying the same position as did another greatly-beloved Queen, the late Queen Mother, who was styled “Queen Elizabeth” during the reign of her husband, King George VI. Her role will also be analogous to that of the Duke of Edinburgh today. In other words, the future Queen Catherine will provide love and support to the throne, but will not occupy it nor hold any formal constitutional position.

The League officials below will be delighted to respond to media enquiries: