While Prince William and his wife can be assured of a warm welcome, he is arguably more accustomed to the rapturous attention of thousands of eager people than his great-great-uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). After the First World War the British government faced the first rumblings of independence from the colonies of the British Empire, and as the prime minister David Lloyd George noted, ‘The appearance of the popular Prince of Wales might do more to calm the discord than half a dozen solemn Imperial Conferences’.
In August 1919 the prince was dispatched on a tour of North America, the first of four official tours to the Dominions and Empire between 1919 and 1925. His first tour of Canada was unlike any royal visit before and the Canadians went out of their way to welcome the heir to the throne. Toronto was ‘gay with bunting,’and instead of meeting deference and respectful applause, the 25-year-old prince was received more in the manner of a Hollywood movie star. The newspapers remarked upon his youthful good looks and the prince, who was mobbed in every city he visited, lapped up the attention, referring to his time in Toronto as ‘the most wonderful days of my life’. For the first time, royalty became mixed up with the modern concept of celebrity, and for a prince accustomed to a lifetime constrained by his position, it was a refreshing and very flattering change.
To his credit, in public he took a genuine interest in every aspect of Canadian life and repeatedly said that he thought of himself as much Canadian as British. He was photographed everywhere and in every form of dress, from full mess uniform to Native American costume and The Times referred to his visit as the 'Prince's Wonder Tour'. In private, however, he found the endless dinners, wreath-laying and earnest conversations with officials tedious. In his letters home to his mistress, Fred Dudley Ward, he showed his real feelings, frequently bemoaning the strain, fatigue and boredom.
Despite this, he was so taken with life in western Canada that he purchased a ranch in Pekisko, Alberta, which he visited subsequently in 1923, 1924 and 1927. It was the only piece of land he actually owned and he loved it for its isolation and for the opportunity to take a complete break from his usual lifestyle.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s North American sojourn is a mere fortnight or so, compared with the four months that Prince Edward was away from home. Nevertheless the purpose of both visits is similar: to maintain the strong links between Britain and Canada, which extend at least as far back as the nation's foundation celebrated every 1 July on Canada Day.
