Prince Edward in British Columbia for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

Prince Edward is in Canada this week, paying a brief visit with the primary purpose of handing out Duke of Edinburgh awards. The Prince attended a private dinner on Wednesday night at the Vancouver Art Gallery, before heading to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel on Thursday for the first award ceremony. Here he presented 76 DoE awards, and spent nearly an hour talking with the recipients and their families. Edward also visited University of British Columbia’s Thunderbird Hockey Arena, which is the official venue for hockey and sledge hockey for the 2010 Paralympics. The prince stated while there that he would like to attend the Paralympic Games, but that nothing is yet confirmed. That afternoon the Prince visited Vancouver Technical Secondary School, where a stunningly large number of students (36) received gold awards (the DoE awards come in gold, silver and bronze).

Friday saw Edward presenting 68 more gold DoE awards at Government House in Victoria, where he laughed and joked with the recipients and their familes. He had no public engagements in Victoria, as the ceremony was private and Edward had no other scheduled events. That afternoon the Prince was in Stanley Park, back in Vancouver, for the Navy’s 100th anniversary celebrations – more specifically, a “a naval mast dedication ceremony” or the unveiling of the Navy flag.

For more details about the trip, see this thread.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Canada, Official Visit, Paralympics, Patronage, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, The Earl of Wessex.