The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh wave as they leave the Ottawa Airport en route to Winnipeg on Saturday. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)A plane carrying the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh touched down Saturday in Winnipeg as the royal couple began a busy, six-hour visit to the city.
A thunderstorm swept through Winnipeg earlier in the day, but the storm passed before the Queen and her husband arrived to attend a series of events, including the dedication of a special cornerstone for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
The couple became the first official passengers to the city's new airport terminal as they landed at the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport around 12:20 p.m. CT. The Queen then signed a letter addressed to the province's youth. The letter was placed in a time capsule, which will not be opened until 2060.
After a brief ceremony at the airport, the Queen, 84, was taken to Government House for a luncheon. While there, she will rededicate a statue of herself created by the late Leo Mol, a world-renowned Manitoba artist.
The Queen will then present the Canadian Museum for Human Rights with its cornerstone, taken from the fields of Runnymede near Windsor Castle, where the original Magna Carta, also called the Great Charter of Liberty, was signed about 800 years ago.
On Friday, Premier Greg Selinger unveiled a copy of the Magna Carta at the Manitoba legislature. It was produced in 1217, two years after the legal charter recognizing certain rights was drafted. The document, considered the bedrock of today's modern democracies, will be on public display for three months, starting July 12.
As the day winds down, Her Majesty will give one of only four speeches she plans to deliver during her nine-day summer tour of Canada, to kick off a concert dedicated to human rights.
The concert will include performances from Manitoba-born singer Chantal Kreviazuk, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and aboriginal drummers.
This is the Queen's 22nd visit to Canada. The royal couple, who have made stops in Halifax and Ottawa, will visit Waterloo, Ont., and Toronto before their tour ends July 6.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/07/03/queen-winnipeg.html#ixzz0sfLtesih
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