Pop star welcome for Prince William
Prince William arrived in Vancouver last night to a pop star's welcome. Teenage girls screamed uncontrollably and shouted: "We love you William", as the Prince joined his brother Harry and the Prince of Wales in Canada.
"He's the British version of Leonardo DiCaprio," said Jessica La Rochelle, holding up a sign saying: "William it's me you're looking for."
Jessica, 19, said of 15-year-old William: "I find his courage very sexy - it's the way he's faced up to things. I love him."
The special-needs carer from Vancouver was planning to follow William when the royal party sets off today for a visit to Canada's West Coast and the Rocky Mountains.
Tara Woodman, 15, from Vancouver, who had waited outside Vancouver's Waterfront Centre Hotel to catch a glimpse of the Prince said: "William has a sensitive heart - he's a real person, someone you can relate to because of what he's been through. And he's drool material - he has his mother's good looks."
Leanne Melnyk, 16, and 17-year-old Lindsay Dixon, from British Columbia, brought pink tulips for William. "We're going to miss school tomorrow to try and see him," said Leanne. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing - he's so good looking - it's such a thrill."
Prince Charles and Prince Harry had arrived in Vancouver an hour before William. They flew from RAF Lyneham in a private jet believed to have been provided by Charles's billionaire friends Galen and Hilary Weston, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
William travelled separately, as a precautionary measure, with former royal nanny Tiggy Legge Bourke on a scheduled commercial flight.
After official engagements the Princes will spend four days privately on the ski slopes.
Charles, 49, hopes to manage some skiing despite a recent cartilage operation on his knee.
The six-day trip has been arranged with fun in mind. William and Harry will be "blasted into space"on a virtual reality ride at the Pacific Space Centre and will also see a "Save the Whales" project.
© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 24 March 1998