Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne spent more than an hour Saturday touring God's Acre veteran's cemetery and its tiny, wooden chapel, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
The visit to the secluded, tree-covered Esquimalt, B.C., cemetery is part of the princess's three-day West Coast visit, which started Friday in North Vancouver with her participation in the commissioning of the first Arctic patrol vessel for Canada's Pacific fleet, HMCS Max Bernays.
God's Acre is a national historic site that dates back to 1868.
Princess Anne's tour will also see her attend a commemorative service on Sunday for the Battle of the Atlantic at the B.C. legislature.
She is also scheduled to visit the Royal Victoria Yacht Club Sunday and members of the Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association later in the day.
The tour of the cemetery grounds by Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles, carries great significance, said David Loveridge, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission director for Canada, Americas and the Pacific.
The princess is the current president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, overseeing its mandate to care for 23,000 war memorials and war cemeteries around the world commemorating 1.7 million Commonwealth casualties, he said.
“To have her here in Canada and to come to God's Acre veterans' cemetery to lay a wreath is a great event for us to commemorate the veterans who are here,” said Loveridge.
Princess Anne was on board HMCS Max Bernays early Saturday when it entered the fleet's home base in Esquimalt Harbour to the greeting of a 21-gun salute.
She wore a Canadian navy uniform Saturday, including a Canadian Fleet Pacific hat.
Navy enthusiasts and royal watchers gathered on the shores of Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse to greet the ship and the princess.
“She's commodore of the navy, an honourary commodore, and she did the commission ceremony and spent the night on the boat after it left Vancouver,” said Iain MacAulay. “So, yes, cool.”
Murray Baines said he wanted to get a look at the HMCS Max Bernays and catch a glimpse of the princess.
“I saw somebody out there waving,” said Baines. “I even had my little binoculars, but I couldn't make out who it was.”
The Department of National Defence said in a statement Friday the official introduction of HMCS Max Bernays into the fleet included “a symbolic presentation of the keys to the ship” to the commanding officer, Commander Collin Forsberg, “along with the breaking of the ship's commissioning pennant, and three cheers by the ship's company.”
Forsberg told reporters ahead of the ceremony that the patrol vessel arrived in its new home port in Esquimalt last month. He said the ship was “designed for, principally, exercising Canadian sovereignty in northern waters.”
He said the introduction of the ship, which was named after a Canadian naval hero in the Second World War, will allow the navy to better meet future defence challenges in the North.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Board orders deportation for trucker in horrific Humboldt Broncos crash
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
Italian teenage computer wizard set to become the first saint of the millennial generation
Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of the first saint of the millennial generation on Thursday, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006.
Milk sold in Canadian grocery stores tested for avian influenza; results released
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
Morgan Spurlock, Oscar-nominated director of 'Super Size Me,' dies at 53
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar-nominee who made food and American diets his life's work, famously eating only at McDonald's for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53.
'A really bad car crash': Why health experts are raising concerns over surging syphilis cases
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was once thought to be a thing of the past is now a public health priority for North American doctors.
Top Russian military officials are being arrested. Why is it happening?
It began last month with the arrest of a Russian deputy defense minister. Then the head of the ministry’s personnel directorate was hauled into court. This week, two more senior military officials were detained. All face charges of corruption, which they have denied.
Leaving time on the table: Surveys show unused paid vacation, 'quiet vacationing'
'Quiet vacationing' is the latest new term to describe the rough edges of office culture, and survey data shows it's widespread among North American workers.
Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
Helicopters, impersonations and squeezing through the fence: a brief history of Quebec prison escapes
Friday's warrant for prison inmate Yacine Zouaoui, 32, is the latest in hundreds of reported prison breaks in Quebec. Sometimes, they just walked away; sometimes they went through a fence, and twice they used a helicopter.