Among those who greeted the princess was a woman who chatted with her on a visit to Victoria 53 years ago.
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Louise Marreiros had a royal reunion on Saturday that was 53 years in the making.
The Victorian wife was in Victoria West on Saturday afternoon to witness Princess Anne’s visit to the FED Urban Agriculture project, where the princess learned about local sustainable food practices.
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“I feel like I’m radiant. “I feel very happy to have seen it,” said Marreiros.
Marreiros last saw the princess in 1971, when the Royal Family visited Victoria. During that visit, Marreiros climbed a lantern downtown to capture a photo of the royal in a convertible. As the car pulled away, Prince Philip pointed to Marreiros. She captured the moment in her photo.
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Later that day, Marreiros returned hoping to catch a glimpse of Princess Anne as she returned from a trip to Tofino.
When the princess arrived, she turned to Marreiros and asked, “Are you still here?”
Marreiros laughed and the two talked for a few minutes, before Princess Anne asked another question that stumped Marreiros.
“Why do you come to see us?” she asked.
“I couldn’t answer him. I said I’ll have to tell you another time,” Marreiros said.
Marreiros almost had that chance on Saturday. As Princess Anne’s motorcade pulled away from the Urban Agriculture FED, Marreiros waved.
The window rolled down and Princess Anne stuck her head out, smiling and waving at Marreiros.
The interaction left Marreiros feeling like he was walking on air, he said.
Princess Anne, the younger sister of King Charles, arrived in Victoria on Saturday morning with a 21-gun salute as her ship, the new HMCS Max Bernays, docked in the port of Esquimalt.
About 30 people waited under gray skies at Fort Rodd Hill to see his arrival.
“I loved the queen and so being able to see one of her children is very special,” said Melanie Austin, a Royal Family fan.
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Warren Prokopiw, who spent 25 years in the Armed Forces, many of them in the navy, was excited to see HMCS Max Bernays, the first Arctic patrol ship in Canada’s Pacific Fleet.
“I spent a long time in the navy. I was on HMCS Regina when she was a new ship so I saw her take charge and all that, so it’s good to see the next generation carry on,” she said. Prokopiw enjoyed watching the naval tradition of offering the 21-gun salute.
The Princess Royal, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, continued her visit in Victoria with a stop at God’s Acre Veterans Cemetery in Esquimalt to meet some of those laid to rest at the cemetery and laid a wreath flowers on the Cross of Sacrifice. .
Wearing a naval uniform, Princess Anne toured the cemetery asking questions about the different styles of headstones and the history of the cemetery.
Golfers playing on the course surrounding the cemetery stopped their games to take photographs of the princess as she walked through the cemetery grounds.
The princess’s visit draws attention to some of the “wonderful things people do in our community,” said Bruce Hallsor, former president of the Monarchist League of Canada.
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“That’s what royal visits are all about,” he said.
The princess also made a private stop at the BC Maritime Museum, which she started with her father, Prince Philip.
During a visit to Victoria in 1951, Prince Philip learned that the coast of British Columbia did not have a naval museum.
“He set out to change that,” Brittany Vis, executive director of the British Columbia Maritime Museum, said in a statement.
When he returned to England, he asked the Greenwich Museum to send some items to BC to start a new museum. Those objects led to the creation of the museum, Vis said.
Princess Anne’s visit to the museum’s collections and archives space included seeing those Greenwich items.
Today, Princess Anne is scheduled to attend a memorial service at the British Columbia legislature commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic. The event begins at 10:25 a.m. and parts of Government, Belleville and Menzies streets will be closed from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
He is also scheduled to present awards at the Spring Dinghies Regatta at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and visit the Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association.
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