'The Crown' Expertly Recreated "Willsmania"
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In March 1998, Prince Charles brought his sons, Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, 13, to Vancouver and Whistler in Canada for a working vacation. They spent 24 hours in Vancouver carrying out engagements, then four days skiing on a private holiday in Whistler (though they did participate in a photocall). It was William's first trip abroad since Princess Diana's death, and in British Columbia, they were greeted by screaming crowds—mainly for teenager William.
Quickly, their trip was dubbed "Willsmania."
"You thought it was a rock star coming," local Monika Vriend recalled to the Canadian Press. "Like back in the day when the Beatles came through, people were just going crazy and swooning and couldn’t believe their own eyes that the princes were there." There were crowds of fangirls to greet the royal trio, especially William. "William was very warmly received," royal historian Carolyn Harris said, "though the attention may also have been fairly overwhelming at that difficult time." In The Crown, viewers see William (Ed McVey) struggle with the attention, and express his dislike for the paparazzi that documents their every move.
Here, see the real photos of Charles, William, and Harry in Vancouver in March 1998, and the young women who participated in "Willsmania," as recreated in The Crown season six:
The trio stayed at the Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver.
Upon their arrival, the young princes were given roses by fans.
William greeted the crowds, carrying roses and Canadian flags.
The crowds largely consisted of young women.
"William it's me you've been looking for" read one sign.
Prince Charles was there too, though the attention was focused on his sons.
Another view of the crowds screaming for William. "I guess there’s also a lot of interest because of the death of the princes’ mother. There’s been so much press worldwide about the family overall," Fred Randall, a member of the Provincial Legislature of British Columbia, said at the time.
The young princes put on Canadian Olympic jackets, given to them during a reception at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center.
"At first [Prince William] did his best to hide his discomfort at the extreme adoration with which he was met. But he hated every second of it, as we were soon to find out," royal reporter Robert Jobson wrote in The New Royal Family.
Jobson added, "William was just horrified at the heaving mass of adoration."
"Wills & Harry Vancouver Loves You!" read one sign.
Though he's portrayed by an older actor in The Crown during this scene, Prince Harry was just 13 years old.
Young girls were overcome with emotion upon catching a glimpse of the royals.
One fan carries a magazine featuring William on the cover.
Here, the fans were outside Vancouver's Burnaby High School.
In Vancouver, William visited Pacific Space Centre, and adjusted his collar as he walked in.
Here, he arrives at the center "to a warm welcome from teenage fans," according to the original caption.
"The young prince’s discomfort was obvious. He could not wait to get inside and when he did, and only his father and the entourage were in earshot, all hell broke loose," Jobson wrote in his book. "William had had enough. He refused to go on."
After just a day, the royals left Vancouver.
For security reasons, William could not fly in the same helicopter as his father.
William waves as he departs.
Of course, there were teenage fans there to wave back.
In The Crown,Charles tells his sons they have to do a photocall first so the photographers will leave them alone. That photocall did really happen, and the princes posed for some ski snaps.
So, we have a few shots of Charles, Harry, and William skiing. Typically, the royals went skiing in Europe.
Read more: These Are the Favorite Ski Resorts of European Royalty
As Pique News Magazine later wrote, "The visit from the future king was well documented, as more than 150 representatives from local, regional, national and international media alike descended like a swirling blizzard on the ski town."
Charles waved to the cameras, while his sons ignored them, looking away.
"William was a better skier overall, but he didn’t have quite the dare-devilishness that Harry did," Otto Kamstra, the royal family's ski instructor, said years later.
Kamstra added, "Harry went off everything. It was like he was newly released on the world. I think they found it refreshing to get away and for the most part they were left alone."
Charles posed for a photo with his sons.
The royals were in Whistler for four days. According to the Associated Press, "While at the ski resort, the princes will be the guests of Canadian billionaire Galen Weston, a polo buddy of Charles, and Weston’s wife, Hilary, who is Ontario’s lieutenant-governor. They’ll stay in a chalet owned by friends of the Westons."
"That the Royals chose Whistler [for a ski holiday] is a huge honour for the resort," Barrett Fisher, then vice-president of marketing with the Whistler Resort Association, said at the time. "Clearly, Whistler was on the international stage from a worldwide exposure point of view."
Also there with them Charles's niece, Zara, the daughter of his sister Princess Anne.
The Crown does a pretty good job of recreating this trip.
For comparison, here's the shot in The Crown, featuring actors Ed McVey, Dominic West, and Luther Ford.
All episodes of The Crown are now streaming on Netflix.
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