Prince William and his wife Catherine landed Saturday in the province of Quebec – the only stop in Canada, where he would face protests on his first official trip abroad as married.
The former French colony was conquered by the British in 1763, but its culture and language survived, and the Canadian province is now a bastion of French culture in North America.
The British government, however, still evokes resentment in some sectors.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tour is scheduled to meet the protests when they arrive in the afternoon and go to Montreal to Quebec City on Sunday.
Their route from Quebec is shortened, without royal walkabout or large public events, apparently in an attempt to reduce any possible confrontations with anti-monarchist or separatist embarrassed that this father of William, Prince Charles when he visited in 2009 .
Upon arrival, William and Kate will be taking a cooking class at the Institute of Tourism and Hotels in Quebec (ITHQ).
Then during the night journey aboard a Navy frigate in Quebec City, where the tour of the historic center of a walled city known as the Citadel, it was designed.
The couple will also meet with members of the Royal Regiment 22 of the most famous French Canadian Forces unit.
The last event in the city of Quebec is a major objective of the planned demonstration.
William and Catherine are very friendly, said protest organizer Patrick Bourgeois AFP, but is used by Ottawa to give the world a false impression that the separatist movement in Quebec has vanished, and its members now accept to be part of a federation dominated by Anglo-Saxons.
QPP Quebec nationalist group called for a rude welcome in Quebec City for the couple.
Bourgeois has promised, however, that the protest would be peaceful, and even went so far as to hire his own security team to keep it in check.
The survey was released on the eve of the Duke and Duchess visit has revealed that one third of Canadians want to cut ties with the British monarchy.
In Quebec, where 83 percent of the population speaks French and only 10 percent speak English, to turn away from real travelers up to 60 percent, according to an Angus Reid.
As a member of the Commonwealth, the official head of state in Canada is the British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor general.
Quebec City twice rejected independence in referendums in 1980 and 1995, the last time in a restrictive manner.
Separatists want to be the third vote, but a power struggle have been hampered by the organization of delay.
Prince William, second in line to the British throne and his wife were greeted by hundreds of thousands of fans in Ottawa on Thursday and Friday.
Quebec leg of his trip, however, promises to be very different, with demonstrators expected to cry. “William, delete”
On Saturday, the couple planted a commemorative tree at Government House as a symbol of his eternal “love and marriage” and later attended a reception with the veterans and war brides in the War Museum.
After Montreal and Quebec, will happen in Charlottetown for testing rescue helicopter from the sea, in Yellowknife for local sports and rodeo in Calgary
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