page_title: Royal tours of Canada by the Canadian Royal Family
section_title: Province of Canada
hierarchical_section_title: Royal tours of Canada by the Canadian Royal Family / 19th century / 1860 royal tour / Province of Canada
caption_attribution_description: English: H.R.H. Prince of Wales and Suite at Point View. Niagara Falls, Canada
context_page_description: Royal tours of Canada by the Canadian Royal Family have been taking place since 1786, and continue into the 21st century, either as an official tour, a working tour, a vacation, or a period of military service by a member of the royal family. Originally, official tours were events predominantly for Canadians to see and possibly meet members of their Canadian Royal Family, with the associated patriotic pomp and spectacle. However, nearing the end of the 20th century, such occasions took on the added dimension of a theme; for instance, the 2005 tour of Saskatchewan and Alberta by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was deemed to be a vehicle for the Queen and Canadians to honour "The Spirit of Nation Builders." The couple's tour in 2010 was themed "Honouring the Canadian Record of Service— Past, Present and Future." Official royal tours have always been vested with civic importance, providing a regionalised country with a common thread of loyalty.
  The first member of the royal family to visit Canada was the future King William IV, who arrived on the country's east coast in 1786 while an officer in the Royal Navy.
context_section_description: The Prince of Wales was formally welcomed into the Province of Canada by a Canadian delegation, who came aboard HMS Hero near Percé Rock. The Canadian welcome delegation consisted of the Governor General of the Province of Canada, Edmund Walker Head, and Joint Premiers, George-Étienne Cartier, and John A. Macdonald. Arriving in Quebec City on 17 August, the Prince knighted Narcisse Belleau, Speaker of the Legislative Council, and Henry Smith, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. During his time there, he also visited Montmorency Falls, and made an address at the Université Laval.
  Following his visit to Quebec City, the Prince of Wales proceeded towards Montreal aboard HMS Hero, joined by several members of the Legislative Assembly near Trois-Rivières. Arriving in Montreal, he took a specially-built open railway car to the Victoria Bridge in Pointe-Saint-Charles, and tapped in-place the final-laid stone for the bridge. During his five-day stay in Montreal, he stayed at the viceregal residence Spencerwood, and inaugurated the city's Crystal Palace, recalling the favourable impression made by Canadians at the Great Exhibition in an address to the crowd.
  At Ottawa, the Prince laid the foundation stone of the parliament buildings, canoed on the Ottawa River, and rode a timber slide on the Chaudière Falls. Travelling towards Toronto aboard the steamer Kingston, visits were planned for Belleville, and Kingston, although anti-Catholic demonstrators from the Orange Order prevented the Prince from disembarking. In an attempt to not embroil the Prince in a controversy, Henry Pelham-Clinton, the Under-Secretary of State who joined the Prince on his tour, informed mayors that they would not disembark until the demonstrators were dispersed. Sailing further west, the Prince visited Cobourg, Rice Lake, and Peterborough, where he received a reception from the Mississaugas. He then proceeded to Port Hope, re-boarding Kingston to sail on to Toronto.
  During a levee in Toronto, the Prince received a delegation from Belleville and Kingston, tending apologies for the early incident. On 10 September, he took a one-day excursion to Collingwood, before returning to Toronto the following day. On his way back, he visited and received addresses from Aurora, Barrie, Bradford, and Newmarket. In Toronto, the Prince attended the Royal Canadian Yacht Club's regatta, agreeing to become its patron; and opened Allan Gardens, and Queen's Park to the public. He departed the city for London, Ontario on 12 September, visiting Guelph and Stratford on the way. From London, he travelled to Sarnia, in order to attend a gathering of 150 First Nations representatives in the Province of Canada. Following this gathering, he briefly returned to London, before travelling by railway to the Niagara Peninsula.
   
  In the peninsula, he visited Brantford, Chippewa, Fort Erie, and Queenston. The Niagara Falls were illuminated for the first time during his tour of the falls. There, he rode on the Maid of the Mist. At Queenston, he met with 160 War of 1812 veterans, dedicated a rebuilt Brock's Monument, and visited Laura Secord. From Queenston, he moved towards Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catherines, and Hamilton.
  Completing his royal tour of the Province of Canada in late-September, the Prince of Wales departed for the United States from Windsor, Ontario. Taking a month-long personal tour of the United States, he travelled under the pseudonym "Lord Renfrew," in an attempt to not attract attention to himself. The Canadian co-premieres saw-off the Prince's during his departure from Canada, and again from the United States, travelling to Portland, Maine on 20 October 1860 to see the Prince off.
caption: The Prince of Wales touring Niagara Falls, Canada West, September 1860.
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