ADDICT CHATS WITH VISITING PRINCE, BUT ROLLING STONE WAS REAL THRILL

A princely handshake was pleasant, but nothing compared to meeting a member
of the Rolling Stones, said one of a dozen addicts who met Prince Michael
of Kent Thursday at the Pemberton House detox centre.

Bradley Rodgers had a brief chat with the Queen's cousin as the prince
unveiled plans for a new site for the facility that helps addicts.

Asked what it was like meeting the prince, Rodgers said it was "quite nice.
But meeting Keith Richards in 1989 was a thrill."

About the only similarities that the ravaged Richards and the prince appear
to share is their age -- 59.

The nattily dressed prince toured Pemberton House for about 15 minutes,
chatting with several residents at the 13-bed facility, as well as members
of the board, housekeepers and other staff.

Several area authors attended, presenting the prince with a copy of the
book Addicted: Notes from the Belly of the Beast.

The prince called the book of essays written by well-known Canadians
dealing with their individual addictions "very valuable."

Whether members of the local literati or a shy-looking Pemberton House
resident slouched in a chair, all are fighting addictions.

Prince Michael's questions received candid responses.

"How long does it take to deal with the addiction?" he asked Governor
General Award-winning author Patrick Lane.

"I think it takes a lifetime," said Lane, an alcoholic. "I'm aware I could
slip off into it in a minute."

Pemberton House board chairman Gordon Harper told the prince of being
admitted into the facility seven times in 1997 and 1998 to deal with his
addictions.

"I was so surprised to find a facility like this, with such a sense of
welcome and hominess and almost love," Harper said.

Prince Michael is a car buff -- he was driven in a vintage Rolls Royce in
Toronto, and in a new BMW "I" series car in Vancouver. But what he thought
of writer Susan Musgrave's car parked outside Pemberton House -- it is
festooned with hundreds of tiny toys -- couldn't be determined as he was
whisked off in his rental car to the next function.

Musgrave's husband, Stephen Reid, wrote a chapter about addiction in the
book presented to the prince.

The Pemberton House visit was one of the prince's last stops on his 11-day
tour of four provinces, with 54 engagements.

Later Thursday, at Government House, he participated with Lt.-Gov. Iona
Campagnolo in the presentation of the Queen's Venturers Awards for Scouts
Canada. Venturers is a Scouting section for youth aged 14 to 17. Forty-five
Venturers from across the province received their awards.

This was a private tour, not official royal duty, for the prince who has
the Queen's permission to earn his own living. He was in Canada to help the
Monarchist League of Canada celebrate the golden jubilee.

He was kept busy during his two-day Victoria stop -- even fitting in tea at
The Empress -- but the inclement weather saw his visit to Butchart Gardens
cancelled.

Prince Michael is said to be a modern-day twin of his great uncle, the last
czar of Russia, Nicholas II. As a member of the Royal Family, he lives in
Kensington Palace. However, he receives no payment from the Civil List or
Privy Purse. He earns his living largely through being an entrepreneur and
running a consulting business for small- and medium-size business
enterprises. He is also a qualified Russian interpreter.

"He very much tries to extend his expertise and interest in small and
medium business enterprises between Russia and the West," said John Aimers,
a tour organizer. "He thinks that is one of the key ways Russia can rejoin
the family of nations."