Russian protest follows Charles's remarks

LONDON - Russia has criticized Prince Charles's reported comparison of President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler and is protesting the matter with Britain.

In a private conversation during his four-day visit to Canada that ended Wednesday, Charles reportedly compared Hitler's 1939 invasion of Poland with Russia's annexation of Crimea.

In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia wanted an explanation from Britain about whether Charles expressed that view and whether the wider British government shares it.

"If these words indeed were said, they don't befit a future British monarch," Lukashevich told reporters Thursday.

Royals take quick taste of our city

The future king fed a polar bear, crafted the perfect paper airplane and nearly lost his voice during an understated but jam-packed visit to Winnipeg Wednesday.

Though it lacked the huge and hyped-up crowds that greeted Queen Elizabeth several years ago, Charles and Camilla's visit was arguably more cerebral and relevant. The royal couple's tour subtly highlighted the stigma of mental illness, the need for business innovation, the power of the arts to heal and even the abandonment of inner-city neighbourhoods by Canada's big banks.

It was the Prince of Wales' fifth visit to Manitoba, one that was scripted to the minute, tightly controlled and saw everyone on their stiffest behaviour. Door-openers were designated at each location. Media were hustled behind rope lines, and police officers kept the modest number of well-wishers in check.

And, while the royals hopscotched around the city, from the airport to Assiniboine Park to the Exchange District and beyond, a minor scandal brewed at home. Charles allegedly compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Hitler during a private conversation in Halifax, according to a media report, prompting a Labour MP to call for Charles to abdicate and run for office if he wants to make statements on geopolitics.

Circus upstaged nation-building

When a delegation of politicians from Central Canada arrived in Charlottetown in the summer of 1864 to discuss the idea of uniting Britain's North American colonies, only one representative of the Prince Edward Island government was available to greet them.

Everyone else in the tiny capital of 7,000, it seemed, had run off to see the circus.

Slaymaker and Nichols' Olympic Circus was the first travelling show to visit the Island in 20 years, and the serious business of nation-building had to compete with the antics of clowns, acrobats and trained monkeys.

The 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference is being marked with a summer of festivals, fireworks and music -- country superstar Shania Twain is taking a break from her Las Vegas show to headline a concert -- to rival anything Slaymaker and Nichols could stage.

Royalty or not, is there a right time to retire?

The last time I saw Prince Charles in person was on one of those endless summer days in the Canadian Arctic.

That was 40 years ago.

We were both in our mid 20s then, but those once-endless summers of our youth have since given way to a frost-topped autumn that is moving inexorably to a wintry end.

Yet, late Wednesday morning outside the Assiniboine Park Pavilion, there he was again with a spring in his 65-year-old step and charming a crowd of all ages. Still full of energy and enthusiasm after all those years and jet-lagged miles. Which prompted me to consider something I've been wondering about since turning 65, the once-traditional age of retirement. When will our generation really get old, and when should we retire? Or should we?

Prince Charles and Camilla at the Manitoba Legislature

Final stop of the royal tour in Winnipeg had Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the Manitoba Legislature. Before departing there were military honours for the Prince, including a 21-gun salute.

Putin, Hitler parallels are superficial: historians

TORONTO - Prominent public figures who draw comparisons between Russia's president and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler are spreading factual inaccuracies that may ultimately come back to haunt them, historians said Wednesday.

The scholars were among many who reacted with surprise when Prince Charles reportedly compared Vladimir Putin and Hitler during a recent visit to a Halifax museum.

Britain's Daily Mail reported the heir to the throne told a woman who lost relatives after Germany's invasion of Poland that Putin was "doing just about the same as Hitler." Russia recently annexed Ukraine's Crimea region.

The Prince of Wales was not alone in drawing such comparisons. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton drew a direct parallel between the two leaders at a speech to the University of California this past March.

Legislature visit marks final stop of Royal Tour

Prince Charles and Premier Greg Selinger opened Sara Riel's Place Bernadette Poirier in St. Boniface today, marking supportive housing for people with mental-health issues.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate the enormous amount of effort that so many people have put into this project," the Prince said at a reception of about 120 people.

"It's a wonderful example of so many people working together for such an imaginative and valuable project. I do hope it makes it makes an enormous difference to people's lives in this part of Winnipeg."

The 28-unit Place Bernadette on Kenny Street is operated by Sara Riel, a non-profit organization established by the Grey Nuns. It cost $8.9 million to build.

Prince Charles known for frank views: experts

HALIFAX - A media report that Prince Charles likened Russia's president to Adolf Hitler during a private conversation in Halifax is the latest sign that the Prince of Wales is more inclined than his mother to discuss touchy political topics, says a royal expert.

Carolyn Harris of the University of Toronto says Canadians have grown used to the Queen's quiet and diplomatic comments to people she encounters.

But she says the remark attributed to Charles in Halifax adds to the growing impression the Duke of Cornwall is more controversial.

"This will become part of a wider public perception ... that he is not shy about expressing political views," Harris, who teaches history and studies the royals, said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Rain can’t dampen royal arrival

As he ducked out of the welcome party and into his waiting motorcade, Prince Charles stopped briefly to greet the small crowd gathered at Government House on Tuesday evening.

"You're very brave for standing here," Charles said to cheers.

About 25 people huddled in the damp waiting to catch a glimpse of the Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, before and after the first official engagement of their day-long stop in Winnipeg.

Several live in nearby highrises and popped over hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.

Prince Charles and Camilla tour Winnipeg

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived in Winnipeg Tuesday night and have a busy schedule on Wednesday with stops all over town, as the couple visit, together and separately, Assiniboine Park Zoo to feed Hudson the polar bear, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a downtown innovation hub and Red River College, among nearly a dozen locations.

Royal couple welcomed to Winnipeg

The duchess's dove grey coat matched the drizzle as the royal couple touched down in Winnipeg this evening.

Prince Charles and Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, arrived a little early at 17 Wing, greeted by a line of windswept local dignitaries. Among them, Heritage Minister Shelly Glover, Premier Greg Selinger, Lt. Gov. Philip Lee and Mayor Sam Katz, all trailed by a gaggle of reporters, military personnel and handlers.

There wasn't much time in the handshake line to chat, but Katz said he expects the couple to be much like the Queen and Prince Phillip, who visited several years ago.

"They were lovely, chatting about the city," said Katz.

U of M archives release never-seen-before footage of earlier royal visit

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will be photographed by every possible device imaginable — but for the very first time, University of Manitoba is making available never-before-seen old-fashioned newsreel camera film footage of a much earlier royal visit.

On May 24, 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Winnipeg as part of their Royal Tour of Canada, traveling by train across the nation. They were greeted in Winnipeg by an estimated 100,000 people, including thousands of Americans. And, while staying overnight at Government House in Winnipeg, the King made his longest ever radio broadcast to the British Empire.

In 2013, Archives and Special Collections of the University of Manitoba Libraries acquired some material that had belonged to R.A. Storch, a graduate in civil engineering and a teacher and vice-principal at Winnipeg schools. Storch died on Jan. 14, 1988 at the age of 84. Among his personal effects were the materials that piqued the interest of U of M archivist Shelley Sweeney: more than 250 historical photographs of Winnipeg and a handful of colour and black and white 16mm films.

Two of the films feature the visit of King George VI of England and Queen Elizabeth to Winnipeg in 1939, showing people preparing for the Queen and King to drive by, and related festivities. School groups of children are shown, including some from what appear to be Somerset School and Cecil Rhodes School, excitedly waiting to see the Royal Couple.

PM in town along with royal visitors

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen will visit Winnipeg on Wednesday morning to join with the visiting royals, it was announced this morning.

The itinerary for the Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who arrive in Winnipeg tonight, did not previously include the Harpers.

But a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office this morning said the Harpers will be in Winnipeg with the royals on Wednesday at 10:25 a.m. at the Stevenson Campus of Red River College. They will meet young people at an Aerospace and Aviation in Manitoba Day event and tour. Both Harper and Prince Charles will speak at the event.