The Queen is receiving a virtual bouquet of flowers on her new BlackBerry.
She’s visiting Research In Motion where Mike Lazaridis, the high-tech company’s co-founder, presented her with a personalized BlackBerry.
The high-tech gift included an image of children from Queen Elizabeth Public School in Kitchener, Ont., offering flowers, a traditional greeting for the monarch.
Her plane from Toronto to Waterloo landed within minutes of its 10:40 a.m. scheduled time and her motorcade headed to a Research In Motion plant where the BlackBerry smart phone is made. The Queen is now touring the plant.
After leaving the plane, the Queen met briefly with federal, provincial and municipal politicians and their spouses. She was dressed in a pale yellow dress and jacket.
“It’s the thrill of a lifetime to fly the Queen,” said pilot Piyush Gandhi, director of flight operations for Porter Airlines.
Hundreds of people lined up at Waterloo Region International airport for a made-in-Waterloo Region welcome.
As the motorcade of six limousines drove along the airport entry road toward Fountain Street, it slowed. The windows of the Queen’s vehicle were rolled down, and spectators got a good view of the Queen and Prince Philip.
The crowd cheered. Some people were so overcome, they burst into tears. Others forgot to snap photographs they had hoped to get as keepsakes.
“This is so incredibly exciting,’’ said Chris Fraser. “That was definitely on my bucket list. She looked so lovely.”
After the RIM tour, the Queen heads back to the airport and flies to Toronto for another round of visits to wrap up the royal visit.
“You miss out on the fantasy of life if you don’t look forward to things like this,” said Jo Herrfort of Kitchener, who staked out a viewing spot at the airport at 7:30 a.m. She was with her mother Marlene, taking shelter behind a windshield sun screen.
Harriet Boyd and son Robert, 8, were also among those at the airport. She was surprised the crowd, though growing, wasn’t larger.
“I remember last time there were thousands,’’ Boyd said, recalling how she lined up on Weber St. in Kitchener to welcome the Queen in 1973. Boyd was eight at the time.
Fraser and daughter Nicki Nawrott showed up at the airport in pearls and tiaras. Fraser was born in the United Kingdom. This, she said, will her first opportunity to see a member of the royal family.
On the airport’s tarmac, wives of dignitaries wore hats – one of the Queen’s most-loved fashion accessories.
Consuming about 30 minutes of a tightly controlled schedule, the Queen’s tour of the RIM plant offers only a slim chance of one of her famed walk-abouts.
She was met at the plant at 451 Phillip St., Waterloo, by Premier Dalton McGuinty, Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran and RIM co-founder Mike Lazaridis.
Stepping from their limousine, the Queen and Prince Philip waved to onlookers, who jabbed the air with BlackBerries to capture the moment in a digital photograph.
People with lawn chairs, umbrellas and a few Union Jacks crowded along Phillip St. About 80 veterans are among the welcomers.
McGuinty is expected to present the Queen and Prince Philip with personalized BlackBerries with messages from him.
Monday night, the royal couple will attend a dinner hosted by the federal government and the Queen will give her fourth and final speech of this royal tour.
Prince Philip will also be presenting the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, a program that encourages youth to participate in community service, among other areas.
Monday’s schedule takes the Queen, 84, and Prince Philip, 89, from 10 a.m. to about 9 p.m.
So far the royal couple has also visited Halifax, Ottawa and Winnipeg on their nine-day Canadian tour. They head for New York after leaving Toronto on Tuesday.
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