Thousands of British pensioners have chosen to retire on Vancouver Island, part of the province of BC, which has a milder climate than the rest of Canada.
Meghan Prince Harry and his wife have settled, for now, to the beach house near the royal city of Canada – Victoria, British Columbia (BC) – named after the queen who ruled until 1901, during the great expansion of the British Empire.
In summer, tourists piled into a red double-decker bus as it is that criss-cross London. Every evening, hundreds flock to the magnificent tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel or one of many other tea rooms city flying the flag of England.
“Victoria may be more British (who) England instead,” said resident Bill Bray.
Indeed, thousands of British pensioners have chosen to retire on Vancouver Island, part of the province of BC, which has a milder climate than the rest of Canada.
Prince Harry, 35, arrived on Monday, just days after reaching an agreement with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth and other senior nobles who would look at him and Meghan, 38, quit their royal roles to search for an independent future.
Their pace has led to questions about what it would mean for Canada. When they settled in Victoria, local residents said they would feel at home and enjoy more privacy than in the UK.
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Victoria had a frequent stop for members of the royal family were visiting Canada, a former British colony that the head of state formally remains the British Sovereign.
George VI, who was the father of Queen Elizabeth and great grandfather Harry, hosted a dinner for 250 guests at the Empress in 1939, according to the website, and in 1951, a year before she became queen, Princess Elizabeth stayed at the hotel.
In 1966, the queen mother visited Victoria and dedicated grounding of the most important museums of the city, the Royal BC Museum. In 2016, Prince William’s brother Harry brought his wife, Kate Middleton, and their children to the city during an official visit to Canada.
“When I was a kid … we used to sing ‘God Save the Queen before school starts every morning,” said Helena Isherwood, who worked at a boutique store in Queens.
Harry and Meghan, with baby Archie, would like Victoria because “it’s beautiful and I think they will get some privacy here, and space,” said Isherwood.
This may be a welcome change for the couple who on Tuesday issued a warning for harassment by paparazzi photographers after the Sun newspaper published a picture of Meghan took a stroll through the park near Victoria.
“We do not have paparazzi culture in Canada, so I think they will find some contrast with what they are familiar with that coming from the United Kingdom,” said Mischelle vanThiel, a royal expert at the Royal BC Museum.
Bray local residents said Prince Harry would be “just another guy on the street” in Victoria.
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