Mike Miltimore of Riversong Guitars of Kamloops, right, Premier Christy Clark, left, and Princess Kate watch as Prince William strums a handmade guitar presented to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2016 to commemorate the royal couple's visit to B.C.
Image Credit: Contributed/Government of B.C.
September 28, 2016 - 11:48 AM
KAMLOOPS - When it came time for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to receive their gift from the people of B.C. during their visit to the Okanagan, Mike Miltimore of Kamloops handed William and Kate a handmade guitar and ukulele.
The musical gifts from Miltimore, who owns Riversong Guitars, were presented during the royal couple's stop at the Mission Hill Estate Family Estate winery in West Kelowna yesterday, Sept. 27.
“Even today, it’s surreal to think back on what happened yesterday,” he says. “Our gift was the final gift, the grand gift.”
The guitar was a special version of the Riversong’s artist series, made with Canadian wood, almost all from B.C. including rare Sitka Spruce and maple leaf inlays made out of maple wood. It’s the same model style the company built for Paul McCartney.
When Kate saw it, Miltimore says she was impressed with the craftsmanship.
“She was quite taken by the beauty of it and the maple leafs on the fretboard,” he says. “We did some customizing and put their names in it and the date.”
The ukulele was specially built for the occasion. Both are good representations of B.C., he says, as they combine the province's natural beauty with local innovation.
He had a short conversation about guitars with the Duke and Duchess. William plays the bass so Miltimore offered to teach the future King of England how to play guitar.
“You hear about them being really down to earth and easy to talk with,” he says. “All those reports, I’d concur with. You feel like the centre of whats going on.”
September has been a good month for Riversong Guitars, after the company received international recognition for its guitars and a worldwide patent for a unique guitar structure.
Go here for more about the royal vist to Kelowna.
Mike Miltimore holds the ukulele and guitar presented as gifts from the people of B.C. to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to the province.
Image Credit: Mike Miltimore via Facebook
To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2016