A love story for the ages: Royal couples’ memorable moments in Canada

July 01, 2019

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI

It has been 80 years since King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother) first travelled to Canada for an official 29-day tour – the biggest royal visit the country had ever seen.

The historic tour, which saw the couple (pictured in Montreal in 1939) travel to every Canadian province – sparked the Queen’s long-running love affair with the country.

On her 1985 visit, she summed up her feelings: “It is now some 46 years since I first came to this country with the King in those anxious days shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. I shall always look back upon that visit with feelings of affection and happiness. I think I lost my heart to Canada and my feelings have not changed with the passage of time.”

Photo: © Toronto Star Archives/Getty Images

<h2>The Queen and Prince Philip</h2>
<p>In 1951, a young <strong><a href="/tags/0/prince-philip">Duke of Edinburgh</a></strong> accompanied his new wife, <strong>Princess Elizabeth</strong> on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada, paving the way for a lifetime of travel together.
<p>“I am sure that nowhere under the sun could one find a land more full of hope, of happiness and of fine, loyal, generous-hearted people,” said <a href="/tags/0/queen-elizabeth-ii"><strong>Elizabeth</a></strong> of the country she has since visited more than 20 times.
<p>Photo: © Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Over the years, the royal pair have strolled in the gardens of Ottawa’s Rideau Hall and shared plenty of romantic runway kisses as they said their goodbyes to the Great White North (pictured, in 1982).
<p>Photo: © Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

<h2>Charles and Diana</h2>
<p>Two years into their marriage, the <strong><a href="/tags/0/prince-charles">Prince</a></strong> and <strong><a href="/tags/0/princess-diana">Princess of Wales</a></strong> delighted fans when they touched down in Nova Scotia on June 14, 1983, for an 18-day tour that took them to New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Alberta and Ottawa.
<p>The visit, which marked the couple’s first official tour of Canada, happened to overlap with Diana’s 22nd birthday.
<p>“It is the birthday of my dear wife,” said Charles (pictured with Diana in Edmonton). “And not only that, but she had the good sense and the excellent taste to be born on Canada’s national day.”
<p>Photo: © David Levenson/Getty Images

<h2>Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson</h2>
<p>On July 15, 1987, the <Strong><A href="/tags/0/prince-andrew">Duke</a></strong> and <Strong><a href="/tags/0/sarah-ferguson">Duchess of York</a></strong> arrived in Toronto for the star of their 25-day tour of Canada, which saw them make stops in Ontario, Alberta (pictured), Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.
<p>“I am looking forward to showing Sarah as much as possible of this great country,” said Prince Andrew, who attended college in Ontario for six months in 1977.
<p>Making the visit extra special: It coincided with their July 23rd one-year wedding anniversary.
<p>“We just love Canadians,” Sarah recently <a href= "https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalty/02019050951367/sarah-ferguson-royal-baby-joy-love-canada-toronto-art-gallery"><strong>told <i>HELLO! Canada</i></a></strong>. “You’ve been incredible to us.”
<p>Photo: © Georges De Keerle/Getty Images

<h2>Prince William and Duchess Kate</h2>
Just two months after their royal wedding in April 2011, the <strong><a href="/tags/0/prince-william">Duke</a></strong> and <strong><a href="/tags/0/kate-middleton">Duchess of Cambridge</a></strong> took their love to Canada as they embarked on their first royal tour as husband and wife.
<p>They kicked things off on June 30 in Ottawa, where they took part in Canada Day celebrations. “Bonjour Canada! Bonne fête!” cheered William.
<p>On July 2, they attended a tree-planting ceremony at Rideau Hall (pictured).
<p>Photo: © Samir Hussein/Getty Images

The nine-day tour saw the newlyweds travel to Quebec, Prince Edward Island (pictured), Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
<p>Photo: © Samir Hussein/Getty Images

“My grandparents used to live here so it’s a very special place for me,” Kate said.
<p>Photo: © George Pimentel/Getty Images

Of course, she couldn’t help but gush about her new husband as well.
<p>“I’m very lucky, he looks after me as much as possible,” she said.
<p>Photo: © Samir Hussein/Getty Images

<h2>Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla</h2>
<p>Although the Prince of Wales had been to Canada on 15 previous occasions, his 2009 trip (pictured) was a special one – it was his first time visiting with new wife, the <strong><a href="/tags/0/duchess-of-cornwall">Duchess of Cornwall</a></strong>.
<p>Making the tour even more significant were Camilla’s ancestral links to the country – she is the great-great-great-granddaughter of one-time prime minister of the (pre-Confederation) province of Canada, Sir <strong>Allan Napier McNab</strong>.
<p>“For my wife, it is both figuratively and literally true that Canada is in her blood,” said Charles.
<p>Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

In 2017, the couple again paid a visit to mark the nation’s 150th birthday (pictured).
<p>“I have never forgotten the warmth of the welcome from the Inuit people, which made me feel instantly at home,” said Charles, recalling his first-ever arrival in Canada nearly 50 years earlier. “As indeed I have with all Canadians on my subsequent visits.”
<p>Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan

Meghan has said she feels “very connected to Canada” – and with good reason. It was her second home for more than six years when she filmed the legal drama Suits in Toronto.

It is also where she and Prince Harry chose to go public with their romance – the couple couldn’t have made their love for each other any clearer when they stepped out at the 2017 Invictus Games holding hands and looking blissfully happy.

Harry’s connection to Canada is strong, too: As a boy, he visited with his mom and brother, and he returned on his own for military training exercises in 2007 and 2008, and, of course, to visit then-girlfriend Meghan during the early days of their romance. Theirs is a love story with a distinctly Canadian flavour.

Photo: © Nathan Denette/Canadian Press

By Alison Eastwood, Sarah Trumbley, Sarah Curran and Kristine Ryall

Adapted from HELLO! CanadaIssue 667.

Over the years, the Royal Family has made many precious moments in Canada.

The Queen and Prince Philip danced in Ottawa in her days as a carefree princess. Diana, Princess of Wales spent her 22nd birthday (Canada Day) with Prince Charles in Edmonton. Peter Phillips met his wife, Autumn, in Montreal. Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan went public with their relationship in Toronto.

Why are the royals so comfortable in Canada? The Queen perhaps said it best in 1951.

“From the moment when I first set foot on Canadian soil… I knew myself to be not only amongst friends, but amongst fellow countrymen,” said the then-Princess Elizabeth.

When her grandson, Prince William, took his new bride, Kate, to Canada in 2011, he spoke of their delight in doing so.

“We had a longing to come here together,” he revealed, to a collective “aww” from the crowd at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall.

Click through the gallery for a look back at some of HELLO! Canada’s favourite moments featuring royal couples past and present in Canada!