Will and Kate are coming to Canada - but will they bring the royal kiddies?
Prince William and Duchess Kate will return to Canada for an eight-day visit starting Sept. 24, Kensington Palace said Monday. There was no announcement yet on whether they're bringing Prince George and Princess Charlotte with them.
But the betting is that they are. British media (Daily Mail and the Sunday Times) and American media (US Weekly and Vanity Fair) confirmed through unnamed royal sources and officials in Canada that the heir and the spare (George is 3, Charlotte is 1) will be on the trip, although it's not clear whether they will be making public appearances.
It will be the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's second trip to Canada; they famously toured just months after their April 2011 wedding (in a visit that also included a stop in Los Angeles) and were greeted with wildly enthusiastic crowds wherever they went.
But it would be Charlotte's first official overseas trip, and George's second; in 2014, when he was about 9 months old, he accompanied his parents on a three-week visit to New Zealand and Australia, and even appeared for his first royal engagements, at a playdate with Kiwi kiddies and at the zoo in Sydney.
The royal children don't always accompany their parents, at home or abroad: When the young royals spent a week on an official visit to India and Bhutan earlier this year, they left the kids at home.
A palace announcement said the visit will be from Sept. 24 through Oct. 1, and will be confined mostly to western Canada, in British Columbia and Yukon. Although details are scarce, it looks like it might be another trip focused on the young royals' love of outdoor activities and their interest in wildlife conservation.
According to the schedule, they will visit Vancouver, the sparkling seaport city of British Columbia, and thh B.C. capital, Victoria, which retains its quaint English colonial look. They're also going to Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon; to Carcross, the home of one of Canada's First Nation communities; and to the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforest on Earth, according to the Nature Conservancy.
Another stop on the itinerary: Haida Gwaii, the archipelago, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, off the north coast of British Columbia.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed delight in a statement at the time the visit was announced in July, and said the royal tour will showcase some of Canada’s natural beauty. He said the visit presents "a unique opportunity for Canadians of all backgrounds to meet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and learn more about our heritage, traditions, and institutions."