The end of Victoria's reign marked the beginning of a new century, and one which would see Canada's rapid growth as a nation. As modern modes of transportation allowed for easier travel across the oceans, more of the Royal Family came to tour the King's northern Dominion. The first since Queen Victoria's death was the son of the reigning king, Prince George (later King George V) and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall and York, who arrived in Canada in 1901. Events during the royal tour, which took in the country between Quebec City and Victoria, had a more casual atmosphere than their equivalents in the United Kingdom; it was reported that at one state dinner the couple "shook hands with between two and three thousand guests, never appearing tired, but always manifesting signs of interest, bowing and smiling to all presented to them." The Prince returned only once more before he became king, when he visited in 1908, by then as Prince of Wales, to celebrate the tercentenary of Quebec City's founding; the governor general at the time, the Earl Grey, reported back to King Edward VII that the Prince "has taught the people of Quebec how to cheer."