Whenever the royals makes headlines on this side of the pond, Kelowna’s Mary Read hears from her friends and today is no different.
Not because she’s a longtime royalist, or because of the English lineage she’s very proud of, but because she’s also a distant relative of the Duchess of Cambridge.
“Kate’s father’s great, great, grandmother and my great great grandmother were first cousins,” said Read, 60. “It’s well back there, into the mid 1850s, but the world of genealogy it’s exciting and it keeps coming back and back.”
Read, who is a genealogist, says there are probably several hundred distant cousins to the Duchess and, like her, they will likely never meet their royal link.
“I didn’t get an invitation to this, or to the wedding, or christenings or anything like that,” she said, jokingly.
“We did send a letter (explaining the relationship) and we got a letter saying ‘that’s nice’ from a lady in waiting.”
Regardless, Read is happy to know the family has made their way to Canada and that they made it to Kelowna for a brief stop.
She decided to not be among those who clamor for a brief sighting, however, opting instead to watch the hubbub from afar.
It will save her the trouble expected to arise from the whirlwind visit.
Members of the public looking to come to UBC Okanagan campus during the September 27 visit are reminded that while they are welcome to come to UBC to attend the royal visit, getting to campus will be challenging.
Non-parking permit holders are reminded that there is no excess parking available on campus. There are some undeveloped properties on Innovation Drive north of UBC Okanagan campus that have been made available by property owners at a cost of $10. These limited spaces will be serviced by a shuttle that will make their way to campus beginning at 8:15 am and finishing at 3 pm.
Public transit to campus also continues to be available and is expected to be quite busy.
For members of the public who would like to see the visit without coming to campus, UBC is streaming the campus visit via webcast.
Information about the visit, transportation and parking options and the webcast visit http://ur.ok.ubc.ca/royalvisit.
