Protestors oppose couple's tour and the British monarchy they represent
Protestors oppose couple's tour and the British monarchy they represent
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been branded 'parasites' by a group of protesters during their royal visit to Montreal in Canada.
William and Catherine enjoyed a warm welcome during the first two days of their official visit to Canada, but the mood changed when they travelled to Quebec.
While there were supporters aplenty, many anti-monarchy groups came out in protest
They were greeted by a largely supportive crowd as they arrived for their visit to the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre on Saturday afternoon, but a group of 40 anti-monarchists were also in attendance.
The demonstrators, who were affiliated to the separatist group Reseau de resistance du Quebec, carried banners with slogans such as 'Royal Parasites Go Home' and chanted 'abolish the monarchy' in French.
But while they were vocal, the protesters were also peaceful and there was no repeat of the egg-throwing that marred the Prince of Wales's visit to Montreal two years ago.
Despite their hostility to the monarchy, some of the French Canadian campaigners seemed to quite like the
young royals.
Sophie Turcot told the Province: "We don't have any beef with William and Kate. We just want the monarchy to stop legislating our country."
Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations a loose association of nations that were once part of the British Empire.
Today's itinerary
At the end of their day in Quebec City, the couple will head to Prince Edward Island today for the next leg of their four-province, nine-day. There, Prince William will take part in a coast guard rescue exercise. The couple will also chat with rescued fishers and their families
Prayer service
Prince William and his wife Catherine began the fourth day of their Canadian tour yesterday with a bilingual morning prayer service aboard a naval ship. The couple joined the crew of the HMCS Montreal for a service conducted in English and French.
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Fashion update: Kate looked stylish in an electric blue Jacquenta dress, by Erdem, the Canadian-born British designer who also designed the navy-blue lace dress that she wore on her arrival in Ottawa on Thursday.
Cooking up a storm
Until now Prince William's only culinary boast has been that he makes a mean shepherd's pie.
After 40 minutes in a Canadian cookery school however, it was herb and cranberry-crusted lamb and croustillant a l'effiloche de canard confit and a distinctly competitive attitude to his lobster souffle.
The Prince and the Duchess of Cambridge, dressed in personalised chef's whites (see pic), were taking part in a cookery demonstration at Montreal's top chef school, the Institut de tourisme et d'hotellerie du Quebec.
The Prince did not let the protestors earlier in the day distract from the main task in hand - proving that he was a better cook than his host, Quebec Premier Jean Charest.
The couples spent about 10 minutes at each station, aiding in the preparation of various facets of the three-course meal.
Observing Prince William stuffing cucumbers with cheese, one of the chefs leading the seminar, Jean-Louis Themistocles proclaimed: "This is the best cucumber I've ever seen!" The prince grinned.
The royal couple didn't shy away in the preparation, with the prince and the premier entering into a good-natured competition.
In one light moment, a triumphant prince called across when his lobster souffle had risen better than Charest's.
"It's a bit of a souffle-off," Prince William yelled out at Charest. "If you could rise to the occasion, that would be great!"
To which Charest replied with a smile: "I guess we'll have to pack (mine) it up and bring it home." Later, when the duchess presented a perfect plate of lamb, Charest chimed in: "show off!"
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