It's been a long time since the last royal visit to Canadian Forces Base Borden.
So it was a personal thrill for those few who got to speak with Princess Anne Oct. 23, 2013.
Mark Passmore and his 13-year-old son Sterling have been practicing their drumming for months so they would be ready for the big day, and this is it. Princess Anne is paying her regimental visit, and the CFB Borden pipes and drums set the pace for the parade.
“We call it Esprit de Corps in the military,” says Passmore. “It's the kind of thing you thump your chest and you make things proud, it's all the pageantry and that sort of thing.”
Royal visits like this are rare. The last time a member of the royal family was at CFB Borden was in 1942 when the Duke of Kent was here to present graduating pilots with their wings. That makes close encounters with Princess Anne even more special.
Pte Marie-Filip Roussel has been in the Canadian Forces just nine months, but Her Royal Highness picked her for a chat during the review of the troops.
“I was surprised and excited at the same time because this is a once-in-a lifetime thing,” says Roussel, adding it was “very exciting.”
Maj. Andrea Seaby spent 20 minutes with Princess Anne touring a field hospital set up here.
“Obviously we are accustomed to showcase our facility but it's a once-in-a lifetime event to showcase it to a member of the royal family,” Seaby says.
While today's ceremony centred on the military personnel here, several royal watchers were happy to get close for some pictures.
“Ecstatic,” describes Ida Worsnop. “It’s really wonderful. It's really nice with the fall colours to greet Princess Anne.”
Jacqueline Flood says she’s from Belfast, Northern Ireland, “So I have seen plenty of royalty, but I have never been this close to Princess Anne.”
Months of preparations went into today's ceremony and there’s no doubt it left a lasting impression on many of the people who were here today.
