(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO / OTTAWA, Canada - July 1, 2011: A shining sea of red and white well-wishers cascading over Parliament Hill is welcoming Prince William and Kate to Canada's birthday party.
Tens of thousands of spectators, festooned in all manner of Canadian colours, jammed the streets of Ottawa and the fields beneath the peace tower to greet the royal couple on Day 2 of their first official overseas visit.
They erupted in cheers when the landau bearing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge rolled into view, then clamoured for handshakes as they strolled along the red carpet.
The din and smoke from a 21-gun salute filled the streets outside Parliament as Governor General David Johnston inspected the honour guard, the skirl of bagpipes in the background. The prince and his wife stood alongside the Centennial Flame as the band played the national anthem and “God Save the Queen.”
Kate was resplendent in Canadian colours — a cream dress by Reiss, complete with the Queen's Maple Leaf brooch, and a brilliant red fascinator by Sylvia Fletcher at Lock and Co. — while William wore an understated blue suit with red tie.
“Kate, you're beautiful,” one spectator bellowed. “Will and Kate,” others chanted.
The brooch, on loan from the Queen, is a diamond brooch in the form of a maple leaf that was first worn by Princess Elizabeth on her first visit to Canada in 1951, and again last year on Canada Day.
Earlier, the royal couple kicked off the day's events by presiding over a Canada Day citizenship ceremony, with hundreds of spectators gathered outside the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., just across the Ottawa River.
Parliament Hill was a checkerboard of red T-shirts, big hats and signs proclaiming love for the royal couple, who will see performances by Newfoundland band Great Big Sea, Quebec's Sam Roberts Band and YouTube sensation Maria Aragon.
Souvenir stands are also already popping up downtown, one selling a replica of Kate's engagement ring, which once belonged to William's mother Diana, the late Princess of Wales.
Today would have been Diana's 50th birthday.
On Thursday, throngs of delighted fans were on hand to greet the duke and duchess before they took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial in the heart of the city's downtown core.
That was followed by a walkabout among the thousands of people lining the memorial square, many of whom had begun lining the streets several hours before the royal couple's arrival.
“Catherine and I are so delighted to be here in Canada, instilled in us by our parents and grandparents, who loved this country,” William told a welcome ceremony at Rideau Hall.
“We've been looking forward to this moment for a very long time. And before we were married, we had a longing to come here together.”
The duke and duchess will remain in Ottawa until Saturday, before travelling to Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottetown, Yellowknife and Calgary. They will leave for California on July 8.
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