It's a good time to take a vacation, eh?
Prince William and Kate Middleton are "looking forward" to showing Prince George and Princess Charlotte what Canada has to offer when they embark on their eight-day tour of the country Sept. 24. "This is a great opportunity for them to introduce their children to a major realm before things like school start to make these things difficult later on," a spokesman said at a Buckingham Palace briefing Monday, confirming reports that the children would join William and Kate abroad. "They really enjoyed taking Prince George to New Zealand and Australia and are delighted to have this opportunity to introduce them to Canada."
This will be the first time that Charlotte, 16 months, has been on a royal tour with her parents. The family will arrive with an entourage of 12 people, including three private secretaries, four communications staff, one tour secretary, one operations manager, one personal assistant, one hairdresser and one nanny. In a statement, their spokesman said, "The Duke and Duchess are delighted with the program. They cannot wait to get to Canada and start learning about new parts of the country that will play such an important part of their lives for many years to come."
William and Kate last visited Canada in 2011, not long after their wedding. Their latest visit will be based in Victoria, British Columbia, where they will stay at the Government House. "They are spending a considerable amount of time in one or two places rather than having to dart across the country," their spokesperson said, "so they really hope to get a real sense of British Columbia in particular."
Just don't expect to see Kate in decked out couture or dripping in Queen Elizabeth II's diamonds—not every day, anyway. "It is a largely casual, highly outdoors tour," the couple's spokesperson told reporters. "There will be the usual government formal moments, but they'll getting out there and getting to meet Canadians face-to-face in all sorts of different settings."