SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Crowds of Yellowknifers, media, politicians and security will be flocking to Somba K'e Civic Plaza on Tuesday, July 5 for the official welcoming of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the NWT.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine Middleton will spend about four hours at Blachford Lake Lodge during their visit to the Yellowknife area from July 4 to 6. - photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

The royal itinerary for the impending visit of Prince William and Catherine Middleton to Canada was unveiled Tuesday by Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore. This is the couple's first international trip since their wedding in April.

The couple arrive at the Yellowknife Airport at 7:40 p.m. on Monday, July 4 and have their first official welcome the next day at 11:40 a.m. where there will be a prayer drum song, a dance, remarks by Premier Floyd Roland, remarks by Prince William, demonstrations of Dene games and Arctic sports, a shrub planting and plaque unveiled and a game of street hockey with youth.

The couple will then head to the legislative assembly at 1 p.m. to attend a session of youth parliament and a reception.

The Duke and Duchess will then make their way down to Old Town at 3 p.m. where they will hop aboard a twin otter float plane to head to Blachford Lake Lodge.

The couple will stay at the lodge for about four hours before returning to Yellowknife for the night and leave the next morning Wednesday, July 6 at 10:15 a.m. for a private retreat before attending the opening ceremonies of the Calgary Stampede on Thursday.

Mike Freeland, owner of Blachford Lake Lodge, said it's a great honour to have the royal couple take a trip to the facility.

"We're giving them a mini tour of the lodge setting ... I'm schedule to have 11 minutes or something with them. It's very scheduled," he said.

"I think part of the focus is that they're getting out into the wilderness and they have a bit of fresh air time. It sounds like it's going to be quite informal."

Freeland said staff with the Dechinta program will canoe the couple out to an island about 15 minutes from the lodge for a fish fry in the afternoon.

The Dechinta Bush University Centre for Research and Learning delivers land-based, university credited educational experiences at the lodge led by Northern leaders, experts and elders.

Program manager Kyla Kakfwi Scott said the couple will be instructed on key elements of the program, learning a bit of the Weledeh language to interact with the elders on site as well as observe the sustainability program

offered at the center.

"They'll see the garden and greenhouse set up on site. They'll be touring through, looking at the harvesting program and the traditional foods that are used and traditional plant medicines and how they are used," said Scott.

She said dry fish will be on display as well as the steps involved in moose hide tanning, from fleshing to smoking.

"They wrap up the program by joining a fireside circle discussion, sitting down with the students and the instructors to have a conversation," said Scott.

Scott said there will be more than 10 students and a few instructors on site during the regal visit. She said the couple have themed their Canadian trip to focus on youth, culture and education.

"There's been so much interest in sitting down with other people their age and hearing about where they're coming from, what it's like living here, what are the issues that people are facing and what is the importance of a program like Dechinta."

"A handful" of Canadian Rangers and Junior Rangers will be at Blachford as well, according to Jennifer Wright, public affairs adviser for Joint Task Force North.

She said the group of rangers will be a mix of people from across the North and not from one patrol group.

"They're going to attend a demonstration highlighting the capabilities, traditions and history of the Canadian Rangers in the North. They will be talking about what their role is as a Canadian Ranger where they come from, some of the traditions," she said.

Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore said the couple's visit to Canada will possibly be the largest, most watched royal visit in Canada's history.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be joined by an entourage of seven British personnel, along with 1,300 journalists from across the country and more than 240 international journalists from countries such as Britain, China, Japan and India. Eight hundred and forty-eight journalists accompanied the Queen on her visit to Canada last year.

"There will be accommodations made as best as possible ... It will be a challenge, but it'll be a short-term challenge," said Moore of the influx of people following the couple around the country during the nine days.

He said the visit will cost about $1.5 million, while Queen Elizabeth II's visit last summer cost about $2.8 million.

Their first public event will be on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 30. From there, the royal couple will tour Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I., Yellowknife and Calgary when they will leave Canada to head to Los Angeles on July 8.

"The 2011 Royal Tour will showcase the best of what Canada has to offer," said Moore.

"This is an opportunity to show the royal couple what it means to be Canadian.

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