It’s been over a decade since the British monarch touched Northern soil.
On May 19, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited Yellowknife, and although it has divided local opinion, many showed up to see royalty in-the-flesh.
“We are going everywhere they go today,” said Cynthia Mufandedza waiting for Prince Charles’ arrival at Fred Henne Territorial Park. “This is my job today.”
“We’re royal fanatics” said Cammy Mailloux.
However, not everyone is happy about the visit.
“Their visit is an insult to the victims of residential schools,” Andrew Speakman, 26, told Yellowknifer. “They think they deserve a second chance, to ‘reconcile’, but they just need to pay, in whatever form, and leave forever. Any other desire of theirs to stay is steeped in imperialism.”
Stenvne Thomas, 54, said while it is poor timing coming off the back of the floods, the royals are no different from other dignitaries.”
“Let’s face: Canada has close historical ties to Great Britain and the British monarchy; however, like any other country we have diplomatic relations with we may not agree with their governmental policies past, current, or future, but in general we have like views in support of democratic societies,” he said.“These representatives can no more affect the tragic decisions of the governments of the past than I can.”
Debbie Young, 65, shared her excitement for the visit, saying, “I for one will be with the probably once in a lifetime event with the Royals. My Mum was born in Scotland and I lived there for 11 years and my sisters and families still live there.
The Royal Family have always been part of who I am and to have them visit Yellowknife is awesome to me.”
The royal couple’s visit to the NWT capital capped off their three-day Canadian tour.
