UBC Okanagan student one of the chosen few meeting royal couple in Kelowna

KELOWNA – UBC Okanagan student Megan Festival has no idea what she’ll say when she meets the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tomorrow.

“Probably something like it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says. “Not say too much so I don’t say anything wrong.”

Festival is one of a handful of students who will be meeting William and Kate when they visit the UBCO campus in Kelowna, Sept. 27, as part of their tour of B.C. and the Yukon.

This will be the first visit by members of the British royal family to the Okanagan since Princess Diana and William’s father Prince Charles came to Kelowna in 1986.

William and Kate's appearance at the university is the only chance for the public to catch a glimpse of the heir to the British throne, although they will be at Mission Hill Winery for a private tour later in the day.

“They’re going to watch us play volleyball for about five minutes, then myself and two other captains meet them and give them gifts from the university,” Festival says. “It’s going to be pretty quick, I imagine.”

As for gifts, Festival says she and the other captains will give the royals UBCO Heat jerseys with Cambridge on the backs, and teddy bears for their two children, George and Charlotte.

She admits she knows very little of the proper rules for addressing royalty, so she plans to keep it simple.

“I know we’re not supposed to approach them first. We’re supposed to wait for them to engage us,” she says. “Other than that I think it’s pretty standard. Just be polite, address them as Your Royal Highness when you first meet them then it’s ma’am and sir after that.”

To accommodate the extra traffic, the City of Kelowna has increased the number of bus routes going to and from the school and several key roads into the event will be closed to all but public transit.

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