Hundreds of people lined Main Street in downtown Moncton, N.B., on Saturday morning for a glimpse of royalty.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal is visiting New Brunswick as part of the 175th anniversary of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s), the country’s oldest armoured regiment.
Princess Anne, who has been the Colonel-in-Chief of the 8th Hussars since 1972, is taking part in several events throughout the weekend in Moncton and Sussex.
That included a Freedom of the City parade in downtown Moncton, where she inspected members of the regiment and spoke briefly to those in attendance.
Lt.-Col. Colin Beazley, commanding officer of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s), said a substantial amount of work has gone into making this weekend a success.
“A lot of parade practice, a lot of practice for the soldiers. All that work is being done by a unit that is part-time in nature,” Beazley told reporters.
Beazley said he has had the opportunity to speak with Her Royal Highness a few times and she is “exceptionally pleased” with how the unit is being run.
The Princess Royal has always placed an emphasis on learning more about the soldiers themselves and how they are trained, he said.
“She stops and speaks to soldiers individually. I can attest to the fact that she is keenly interested,” said Beazley.
Capt. Mayte Portilla-Villalon, the officer commanding B Squadron in Sussex, described this weekend’s events as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Portilla-Villalon said there is a lot of pride among the members who were able to take part.
“It’s very unique when you have your family members and members of the public out there seeing what you do,” said Portilla-Villalon.
The military procession was marked by a 21-gun salute along the riverfront. It was followed by an afternoon open house at Moncton Garrison and a private gala in the evening at the Delta Beausejour Hotel.
Events move to Sussex on Sunday with a service at Trinity Anglican Church at 10 a.m. followed by a military parade on Broad Street at 10:30 a.m.
Later, Princess Anne will take a tour of the 8th Canadian Hussars Museum and attend their open house on Leonard Drive from 1 to 3 p.m.
The visit will conclude as The Princess Royal leaves Sussex by helicopter and lands at the Greater Moncton Airport where she will board a commercial flight home to London via a stop in Montreal.
With files from Allan Dearing
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