Crowds go to Byward Market for a royal visit at a moment of history

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On Wednesday afternoon, a large crowd gathered at Byward Market in Ottawa to catch a glimpse of Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, and the Duchess of Cornwall disembarking all day in the capital.

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They arrived at the market after 1 pm and roamed the area, surrounded by media, guards, and spectators who wanted to see them.

This visit, which took Charles and Camilla to Ottawa, including a visit to the National War Memorial and a meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor Mary Simon, was given to Queen Elizabeth’s recent health concerns. May be the last as a prince. The three-day visit to Canada will conclude tomorrow in the Northwest Territories.

“It makes me think about history, about the moments of history,” said Julia Lissitzina, a teacher at the Ottawa School of the Arts in the market.

Lisitsyna has been in the ByWard Market community for nearly five years and said she loves selling paintings and interacting with people in warm weather. She said her royal visit was positive for local businesses and thanked for their charitable program.

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“I really admire the way they support arts, science and environmental research. Funds, trusts in those countries … they count. When I meet him, I can’t bow properly, but he I think she’ll be a little more forgiving … “she said with a laugh.

“It’s very exciting,” said Josefa Molina, a Chilean-Canadian vendor who sells traditional Mexican food on the market. “When something happens with the royal family, the masses get a little older and become a lot of older people. A lot of tourists come out.”

Christine Mbona Kuete sells art on By Ward. She has been active there since 2019 and is there most of the summer when the weather is nice. She is pleased with the growing crowd and such business events. She said she would give him a present if she met the prince.

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“I’m glad to see him. I’m an African woman. I want to give him a gift to show him life in Africa,” she holds a small red and yellow picture of a woman standing in front of her. Said. Savannah. Mbona Kuete said it might broaden the prince’s horizons a bit. “If I could meet him, that’s what I give him.”

Bob Woods is not as excited about the appearance of the royal family as some others in the crowd.

“I’m not actually here to see them, I’m sightseeing on vacation,” he said. “After all, they’re from England, the Queen of England, and I’m from Canada. The governor has more feelings. I’m an indigenous person, and I’m in that position. It really made a lot of sense for me. “

Woods, a retired police officer from North Bay, said he was visiting for the next few weeks.

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“It’s like a lot of money, look at all the police around, it costs a lot,” he said. “I pay for vacation, but he doesn’t. You and I pay. I’m from northwestern Ontario and many people feel the same.”

Audiences saw Charles and Camilla walking through the crowd from the balcony of a two-story restaurant. The worshipers greeted Mayor Jim Watson and chased the royal couple across the square when they stopped at Beavertail.

Francine Potvin was in the midst of the crowd when the Prince and the Duchess returned to their car in cheers.

“Everyone around me said,’Now I’m excited,'” she said. Potvin attended in 1967 to meet Queen Elizabeth II. She visited the market on Wednesday and took a picture of her granddaughter handing flowers to a royal couple.

“I was just taking pictures and taking pictures! I’m generally not so interested in them because they’re in the UK and I’m here, but it was very exciting.”