Prince Charles shows his hockey skills
SAINT JOHN, N. B. — The royal couple kicked off its Canadian tour Monday in New Brunswick, where Prince Charles recalled his time training as a military pilot, extolled the virtues of service, and in a scene reminiscent of his son’s visit last year, played a pickup game of street hockey.
But unlike Prince William, Charles scored.
It was an unconventional kickoff for the couple’s whirlwind visit — Charles’s 16th to Canada — which began in earnest at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, where he flew as a naval helicopter pilot in the 1970s “at an exercise area in the middle of nowhere,” drawing a smattering of laughter from a crowd of about 800.
He also praised those who devote their time serving their communities, a prominent theme of the couple’s visit as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year.
“The roll call extends from remarkable schoolteachers who, against all the odds, are giving their students the best possible start in life, to senior businessmen and women who are working creatively to share their practical skills and experience with communities who need a bit of help,” Charles said. “I can only hope their example will inspire others as it inspires me.”
The Prince of Wales later presented a Diamond Jubilee Medal to Marshall Howard, 13, who has been raising money for a scholarship in memory of Pte. David Greenslade, a soldier from Saint John who died April 8, 2007, while serving in Afghanistan.
“It was an honour because I didn’t know about it until an hour before I went on the stage,” Howard said after.
Charles also met with soldiers enrolled in the Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur, a program to help soldiers switch to civilian life by training them to start and run a business.
Charles then met with families of military personnel who have died.
Charles and Camilla travelled later to Saint John, where they walked along Prince William Street shaking hands and speaking with hundreds of people amid a constant flutter of camera shutters before attending a citizenship ceremony for 13 new Canadians from eight countries.
They later went to Hazen White- St. Francis School, an elementary school with about 145 pupils who are predominantly from low- income families.
Outside, they watched as children and two members of the Saint John police played street hockey on the playground.
Then, in a rare unscripted display, Charles took a stick just as his son did last summer in Yellowknife.
But unlike Prince William, who was held scoreless in a friendly game of shinny, the 63- year- old was able to find the back of the net.
Charles and Camilla arrived in Toronto in the evening in time for a Victoria Day fireworks display. They were also expected to meet with emergency workers and their families.
The Ontario government will play host to a reception in the historic Distillery District for the couple before Charles visits the Yonge Street Mission.