The Earl of Wessex Visits Calgary

The Earl of Wessex is currently on an official visit to Canada, and has stopped in Calgary.

On Saturday Prince Edward visited Simon Fraser Junior High School in Calgary to meet students involved in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and other leadership schemes.

On Sunday morning the Prince handed out awards to 100 Gold Award recipients at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary. He told the students that they could walk taller, knowing what they have achieved. He also held a breakfast meeting with business leaders and RCMP officials with a view to increasing the number of young people taking part in the Award scheme, especially those in the north of the country, including Nunavut, where presently the high school drop-out rate is very high.

On Sunday afternoon the Prince took part in a ceremony at the Mewata Armoury to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cadet Instructor branch of the Canadian Forces Reserve. As Colonel in Chief of the Saskatchewan Dragoons, he was wearing the uniform of a Canadian colonel. He watched a march past, inspected the troops, and chatted informally to some of the cadets.

On Sunday evening the Prince attended an event in Banff, and on Monday he was back in Calgary to present the RCMP with a new mascot, a yellow labrador called Suzanna, from the kennels at Sandringham. This comes shortly after the RCMP presented the Queen with a horse, named George, trained in the RCMP Musical Ride programme (see this blog).

For more details about the trip, see this thread.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Anniversary, Canada, Colonelcy, Military, Official Visit, Patronage, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, The Earl of Wessex.