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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Calgary

7th July 2011

As the Royal Tour of Canada draws to a close, The Duke of Cambridge paid tribute to the country and its people during a visit to Calgary.

In his last speech of the royal trip The Duke described how the visit to the Commonwealth country had "far surpassed" what he had been promised.

And he vowed to return to Canada, where crowds have turned out in their thousands to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds.

The Duke spoke last night in Calgary - the final stop of their nine-day tour which ends later today - at a reception celebrating the world-famous Calgary Stampede, a rodeo festival.

The Duke and Duchess wore white "ten gallon" hats they had been presented with, and finished off the look with cowboy shirts and boots, and jeans.

Speaking in a conference centre The Duke told the guests: "In 1939, my great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, said of her first tour of Canada with her husband, King George VI, 'Canada made us'. Catherine and I now know very well what she meant.

"Canada has far surpassed all that we were promised. Our promise to Canada is that we shall return."

He said: "I can only say that the experience of this past seven days has exceeded all our expectations."

To a large cheer from the room, The Duke said: "And what about these fantastic white hats.

"We have seen how geographical diversity is matched by the diversity of the people we have met: anglophone and francophone, First Nation and new immigrant.

"The Canadian family is another of the abiding memories that will stay with Catherine and me.

"Canada is not just a great union of provinces and territories, it is a great union of peoples from many different backgrounds who have come together to make this a model - and a magnet - for those who value freedom, enterprise, tolerance and compassion."

Before his speech the couple had seen demonstrations of some of the attractions from the Calgary Stampede.

The Duke even tried his hand at one of the events from the rodeo show and threw a small stove into the back of a chuck wagon - the way races are traditionally started.

The royal couple then watched some of youngest competitors from the show
"mutton busting".

The tiny riders aged around three and four were put on sheep taller then they were and tried to stay on for a few seconds.

The highlight of the demonstrations were the men who risked their lives riding bucking bulls who leaped into the air in an attempt to throw off their riders.

When the contestant walked back to his pen after falling off The Duchess looked at The Duke and gestured to the man's chaps: "We should get you in a pair of these."

They had begun their day in Calgary being presented with cowboy hats, or "white hatted", at the city's airport.

On the tarmac The Duchess brought smiles of joy to the face of a little girl with cancer by granting her wish to meet a "princess".

Six-year-old Diamond Marshall, who has a large tumour in her abdomen, flew into The Duchess's arms when the pair met.

Her dream of meeting The Duchess began after she watched the royal wedding from her hospital bed and her father Lyall Marshall, 37, wrote to the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada asking if his daughter could meet The Duke and Duchess.

After launching the Calgary Stampede, the couple visited Calgary Zoo for a reception hosted by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach who highlighed some of the research, particularly aimed at protecting the environment, taking place in the province.

The royal couple then flew on to California for a three-day visit supporting UK interests in the state where the highlight will be a black-tie Bafta reception and dinner staged in the Belasco theatre in Los Angeles.

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